TOP STRATEGY TO SUPPORT COMMUNICATION

If you are working with an individual and looking to increase communication, you must try this strategy! It is proven to open the door for more communication, support processing, and give more power to the individual. So what is this strategy? Wait Time!

Wait Time is when you simply PAUSE and allow the communicator the chance to respond. It seems so simple right? Well, in a fast-paced world, where many of us are uncomfortable with silence, it is actually a lot harder than it sounds. Let’s discuss why we use wait time, how we can practice it, and its behaviorist counterpart.

WHY USE WAIT TIME?

We use a wait time for a few different reasons.

1. It allows the communicator the opportunity to respond. If you don’t pause in your conversation, individuals who have communication delays will not insert themselves into the conversation

2. It allows the communicator the time to process what was said. Sometimes it take a little bit of time to process the language others are using. By giving wait time, we allow for that processing time and ensure we are getting a true response.

3. It allows the communicator the chance to develop a response. This is especially true for those who have motor planning difficulties. By allowing wait time, we allow the communicator the chance to gather their thoughts and make them happen

Thinking about our AAC users, think of how much needs to be coordinated to develop a thoughtful response (listen to the input, decide what to say, select the correct locations, and share).

HOW DO WE PRACTICE?

You may be reading this and saying “Practice waiting quietly Lauren, that does not seem necessary” and maybe it’s not, but I challenge you to really look at your practice of this. We often say to utilize a wait time of 5-10 seconds to start and increase from there as necessary. Some individuals need close to a minute of wait time to process information and respond.

Practice tips:

1. Record and interaction with your individual, watch its back to see if you provided enough wait time

2. Count in your head to 10 (be sure to still look at the individual so they know you are there and ready to communicate)

3. Practice it as often as you can

4. Teach others and have them help check if you are using wait time

BEHAVIORIST COUNTERPART

I often see this idea of WAIT TIME confused with WITHHOLDING. Withholding is a behavior management strategy where you keep an item or action until a specific action is made. In our case, we would be withholding something until an individual said the word or used their device.

How do these differ:

• Wait time

  • Communication partner says “What do you want for lunch?” then they look at the communicator and PAUSE. In their head they count to 10. If the individual responds before that, we honor their communication and give the item. If the individual does not respond after 10 seconds, we can model some options or give choices and directly give the lunch item.

• Withholding

  • Communication partner says “What do you want for lunch?” then they look at the communicator and pause. If there is no response they ask again and then prompt for a specific word “grilled cheese”. If the communicator does use a vocalization for the lunch item, but not the expected word (grilled cheese) the communication partner holds lunch until they are able to say the word/use their device, etc.

I picked a food example because you can see how problematic withholding can be… If we hold an item from a person until they meet our expectations, we are not allowing them the opportunity for autonomy.

Below you will find a FREE resource that details the difference between withholding and wait time!

Lauren Greenlief