Supporting Communication in Secondary Schools

Interacting with peers and making friends can be challenging for young people with language and communication difficulties and differences. We want all young people to be happy at school and we know that friendships and social interaction are just as important as academic achievement. Here are some ideas to help.

Make communication opportunities accessible:

Use a total communication approach when interacting with young people who have difficulties understanding language and/or expressing themselves. This means using different communication methods alongside each other to help young people understand what you are saying to them. It also offers more opportunities for young people to communicate in ways which are accessible for them.

Communication methods include:
When communicating with young people, use language which is accessible to them. This may involve breaking down information and instructions.

Create opportunities for interactions

Young people are more likely to interact with others when relaxed and while doing an activity that
they really enjoy.

Offer opportunities for young people to talk about their interests.
Create opportunities for young people to interact with others who share similar interests, so that friendships can develop naturally e.g., through lunch time clubs.
Consider the environment when creating opportunities, e.g., some young people may find busy or loud areas overwhelming and may find it easier to make friends in quieter spaces.
Offer choices of activities to support young people to express what they want to do.
Recognise and respond to young people if they request they want an interaction or activity to end (verbally or non-verbally).
Consider buddy programmes to support young people to integrate with others at break times.

Support young people to recognise emotions in themselves and others:

Supporting young people to recognise emotions in themselves and others (e.g., sad, happy, scared, excited, angry, surprised) can help them to develop empathy and regulate their own emotions.

Strategies to support children to understand emotions:

Talk about emotions in context and model words young people can use to explain how they are feeling. For example. when reading books, talk about how characters are feeling and why.
Provide regular opportunities for young people to express how they feel and why.
Talk about body sensations in relation to emotions.
Use visual support e.g., emotion scales/ energy scales alongside spoken words and facial expressions. Visuals can be found here.

Support young people to understand social:

Many young people benefit from support to understand social situations, understand perspectives of everyone involved in the interaction and learn strategies to manage communication breakdowns or conflicts.

Strategies:

Social stories can help children understand what to expect in a social situation, understand what other people think and feel and reduce anxiety. Information on social stories can be found here.
Comic strip conversations can help young people understand what happened in social situations using speech and thought bubbles to show and validate everyone�s perspectives.

It is important to note that Social Stories and Comic Strip Conversations are designed to inform young people about situations rather than direct them to change their behaviour.

Support young people with a diagnosis:

If you are working with young people who have a diagnosis or specific needs, consider educating other young people about this to increase peer awareness and create an inclusive environment. Liaise with professionals for guidance on this if needed.