Augmentative and Alternative Communication
For many of my families that have kiddos with little to no expressive language and who are starting to demonstrate a lot of frustration I recommend using sign language and/or Picture Communication to give the child at least some way to communicate. This will in turn hopefully decrease the frustration as they will be able to request their basic wants and needs. These initial signs and pictures also tend to become some of their first words. It is important to remember that speech is always our ultimate goal so we always pair speech with the picture or the sign. This aids in the connection between the symbol/sign and the spoken word. Included in this area will be examples of signs, pictures of common items you can use to make a communication notebook, and other helpful things to create a temporary communication system for your child so that frustration decreases for all!