Welcome to “On the Horizon”

Issue 91:  Communication is Dynamic

On the Horizon is an award winning weekly ezine for parents of children with developmental disabilities who want simple, effective strategies to reduce stress, support their child’s development, and improve quality of life for the whole family.

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New Year Solutions

A Note from Nicole: Ready to Tackle the New Year

Idea of the Week:  Paper Plate Snowman

Feature Article: Communication is Dynamic

The Horizons Team Recommends: Raising Minds®; Do Something Daily Calendar

Upcoming Events: CORE Approach Parent Teleseminar; Sibshop

Happy New Year Everyone!

I hope you were able to enjoy the holidays with your family and friends, and that you are ready to embrace the new year ahead.  The past two weeks have been wonderful at our house, and I have enjoyed relaxing and spending time with my family.  I feel refreshed and ready to tackle all the exciting projects my staff and I have planned for the year!

Since the holidays have a tendency to get us out of our routines, January is a good month to refresh our memories about the most important things we need to be thinking about with our children.  Erin’s article this week reminds us of how dynamic communication is, and why it is so important to use communication that fosters thinking and relating.  As you get back to a more normal routine this week, be aware of your communication with your child so you can tweak as necessary.  If you haven’t yet learned how to change your communication style to support your child’s development, schedule a free initial consultation with us right away (info@horizonsdrc.com or 616-698-0306) so we can get you on the path to knowing how!

By the way, since it’s the start of a new year you may want to check out our Do Something Daily perpetual calendar.  It contains 365 simple but meaningful activities to do with children of any age.  Use this resource to get in the habit of making time for meaningful moments everyday this year!

Enjoy the week!

Looking to the horizon,

Paper Plate Snowman

Take 3 small paper plates and connect them together by poking holes near the bottoms and tying them together with string or small pieces of pipe cleaners.  Then decorate the plates as you would a regular snowman.  You can color it like a snowman or use objects to decorate it – buttons, leftover material for a scarf, cut out a carrot nose and a hat, etc.  These are great to decorate your house for the winter and express your creativity at the same time!

Communication is Dynamic

By: Erin Roon, MA CCC-SLP

Communication is a dynamic process.  It goes way beyond the words we say.  Many people interchange the words communication, language, and speech; but these terms are not synonymous.  Speech refers to the actual words or sounds that are coming from your mouth.  Language is the grammar, meaning and ability to use the words you have. When people talk about language, they are referring to both verbal and non-verbal language.  Communication encompasses both language and speech, but it is more than that.  It is the ability to share thoughts and experiences in a meaningful way while taking in, processing, and responding to the person you are talking with.

When you stop to think about all the elements of communication, it is a wonder that we don’t have more miscommunication.  It is such a multi-level skill!  The ability to hear the words someone else is saying is only one small part of dynamic communication that involves the ability to read facial expressions, gestures, tone of voice, and body posture at the same time as listening to what the person has to say.  Once you’ve taken in all of this information, then you need to process it and decide how to respond.

Communication is a broadband process made up of many single band processes.  Speech, language, and each different type of non-verbal language are the single bands that make up the broadband process of communication.  If a person has difficulty processing any one of these bands, pieces of communication will be lost and will be difficult to interpret correctly and respond appropriately to the message being sent.  The ability to take in and simultaneously process these multiple modes of communication is an automatic process for most of us.  It happens rapidly and without thought.  Often times we do not even need to hear all of what is being said before we have begun to formulate our response!  When we lose focus or are unable to process a particular band of communication, this can lead to breakdowns and misinterpretations.  Think about how easy it is to misinterpret what is being communicated when you are talking on the telephone or reading an e-mail.  It becomes increasingly difficult to process accurately the message being sent as you take away pieces of the broadband experience that is known as dynamic communication.

Continued…

Discover a Source of Information
and Support for Parents Just Like You!

Imagine for a moment what your life would be like if you knew how to
identify and address the biggest obstacles facing your child. I’m
talking about the core issues that create difficulties for your child,
for you, for your family, and for anyone else involved in your child’s
life. What would it be like if you could help your child learn to:

• Attend to the right things at the right time
• Thoughtfully communicate—not just talk in memorized or mechanical ways
• Be genuinely interested in the emotions, ideas, and actions of others
• Take responsibility for actions
• Flexibly adapt to change
• Understand the intentions of others
• Come up with creative ideas and solutions
• Have meaningful conversations
• Develop curiosity about other people, events, and things in the environment
• Be self-aware—know who s/he is as a person and how s/he is being perceived by others

The information available at
Raising Minds® will help you understand exactly what deficit areas
require treatment and how to accomplish that, while lowering your
stress in the process.

Now, just imagine the peace you will bring to yourself and your
family, not to mention the results you’ll create for your child, when
you have 24/7 access to the information, resources, and motivation you
need to understand your child’s needs and powerfully impact his/her
development.

Do Something
Daily Calendar

Do you dread hearing your child complain, “I’m bored”?

Struggle to
think of something fun you can do together?

Have trouble squeezing one-on-one time with her into your
day?

That’s why we
created the Do Something Daily Calendar.
The Calendar offers a daily dose of inspiration and ideas
for spending time together–whether you have 60 seconds or 60
minutes.

In addition, $1.00 from every calendar sold goes toward research to improve the quality of life for those with autism, through a donation to the Foundation for Autism Research and Remediation

For more
information, click here.

Please join us!

• CORE Approach Parent Teleseminar: Topic: Biomedical Information
  Dr. Wycoff as the guest speaker
  (Horizons Families Only)
  Thursday, January 21, 2009 from 11:00-12:00 PM EST
• Horizons Family Fun Event: Bounce Party – bouncing, climbing, sliding, fun, and more!
  (Horizons Families Only)
  Saturday, January 30, 2010 from 10:30am-12:00pm $5.00/per child
• CORE Approach Parent Teleseminar: Q&A with Michelle and Courtney
  Topic: Scheduling
  (Horizons Families Only)
  Monday, Feburary 1, 2009 from 1:30-2:30 PM EST
• Sibshop – Horizons Sibling Network
  Open to everyone!
  Saturday, Feburary 20, 2010, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM EST
• Workshop – Evaluating for Autism: The
  Nuts and Bolts of Quality School-Based Autism Spectrum Disorder Evaluations
  
• Workshop – Autism in the Classroom: Simple &
  Effective Strategies to Learn Today and Use Tomorrow
  Friday, March 12, 2009
• Workshop – Day of Change: A
  Groundbreaking Workshop for Parents of Children with Autism and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  Saturday, March 13, 2009
• Extreme Makeover: Autism Education Edition
  August 4-6, 2010