Intensive Interaction
Intensive Interaction is an approach that was developed by teachers, Dave Hewett and Melanie Nind. Find out how this approach started by visiting this website.
In this approach the adult adjusts their interaction style to more closely match their child’s, leading to fun and engaging interactions.
Watch this video for a full explanation of the approach.
Why use intensive interaction?
- You don’t need any special tools, just an open and curious mind.
- It allows the adult to enter the child’s world and develop shared attention through the child’s lens.
- The child guides the pace and style of the interaction.
- The approach supports with the ‘fundamentals of communication’ which include:
- Noticing and paying attention to another person
- Taking turns in interactions
How to do it:
- Find a calm and quiet space with few distractions. Put away and turn off screens and other noisy distractions.
- Get face to face. Position yourself at your child’s eye level and keep at a distance your child is comfortable with.
- Watch the movements and listen to the sounds your child makes when they move around.
- Respond by copying their movements and sounds and take turns. This might mean you copy them clapping their hands, return their smile or imitate their attempts to communicate.
- Pause and wait during the ‘conversation’ so that you give your child a chance to re-start the interaction. This develops a sense of turn taking.
- Hold their attention by copying them with different volumes, tones, and facial expressions.
- Make it fun! But remember, if your child shows you they dislike the interaction or they have had enough, you should stop.
Ideas for making your interactions fun
- Sharing Personal Space: Lying or sitting down next to your child
- Physical Contact: Playful touching e.g., touching or holding hands, tickling, rubbing noses
- Vocal Echoing: Copying sounds, using exaggerated intonations, laughing, whistling
- Behavioural Mirroring: Copying movements or changing them slightly by making them more dramatic
- Eye Contact: Making dramatic glances, looking in the mirror, staring at each other
- Joint Focus Activity: Looking at objects, toys, musical instruments together. Reading together, singing or commenting on what they are doing.
- Joint Action: Playing with musical instruments together, a ball or balloon play, passing objects back and forth, playing with water and sponges.
- Burst-Pause Sequences: Leave gaps for a response or to build excitement and anticipation. Play catch, peek-a-boo, ready-steady-go or 1-2-3 before an action.
- Exchanging Facial Expressions: take turns to use different facial expressions, pull silly faces, stick out your tongue.
Last updated20 Jan 2025