basic communication skills 35
For example: Hola waits until
Kwame is looking at her. She gets
him interested and engaged by
raising her eyebrows, smiling,
and shaking the ball.
When Kwame is
ready, Hola rolls the
ball to him.
Kwame rolls the ball back
to Hola. She smiles and
claps her hands...
...and rolls the ball
back to him.
Now Kwame knows what to do. He and his mother are taking turns.
Then Hola changes the game to keep Kwame’s
attention. She hides the ball inside a box. Notice
Hola’s face. How would your face look if you
were asking, “Where is
the ball?” without using
words?
Hola waits
while Kwame
crawls to the
box.
Hola smiles and
claps her hands
again when he
finds the ball.
As you see in these pictures, basic communication begins when a child is
very young. Communication does not have to include words.
Helping Children Who Are Deaf (2004)