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59 %u00a9 Elklan Training Limited 2025Elklan Supporting Gestalt Language Processing %u2013 a Total Communication Approach7.3 CHECK THAT A TOTAL COMMUNICATION APPROACH IS USEDHas the child or young person a range of communication options available to communicate their needs? This includes a means of communicating their sensory needs. Are supporting adults aware of the child or young person%u2019s communication style and what their non-verbal communication, vocalisations or gestalts mean? Is there an About Me information sheet (see page 70) available so everyone can share information about the child or young person? When communication breaks down there may be a simple reason such as the child or young person not being addressed by name when given an instruction.Behaviour needs may occur due to a child or young person not conveying their intended message or arise due to frustration when a child or young person is not being understood. Using gestalts may indicate a higher level of expressive language than exists and so the supporting adult may have unrealistic expectations regarding their verbal comprehension.A checklist of questions can be helpful when thinking about the antecedent and communication:%u2022 Is their attention supported and are they motivated to attend?%u2022 Do they understand the situation?%u2022 Do they understand the non-verbal communication which accompanies the verbal communication?%u2022 Do they understand the verbal communication?%u2022 Are they motivated to respond?%u2022 Are there opportunities for self-advocacy and do they know how to self-advocate? i.e. ask for what they need?%u2022 Have they access to an AAC system to support their communication?%u2022 Can they express their emotional and sensory needs?%u2022 Were they given an opportunity to repeat lists or strings of words for pleasure or self-regulation?%u2022 Did their echopraxia result in a facial expression showing an emotion that was misunderstood?7.4 MISUNDERSTANDING PHYSICAL ACTIONSWhy might a child or young person continue to move when asked to stop or sit down?On pages 21-22, stimming and echopraxia were described and how it is important to understand the nature of any physical behaviour and recognise their differences.If a child or young person is very active, they may be regulating their sensory needs and/or require movement in order to maintain attention. They may, for example, continue to move when asked to sit down, or rock back and forth in their chair when in the classroom. They may be seeking the movement to regulate rather than not following the instruction to sit.