Some children with disabilities engage in actions or speech that are not connected to their need to communicate. It will help to define patterns of behaviors that can later be developed into intentionally communicative behavior.
After you have identified the behavior, try responding to behaviors as if they were intentional, being as consistent as possible. Verbally assign meanings to these behaviors, giving children chances to make strong associations. When you're engaged in learning activities, always signal the beginnings and the ends of activities.
By using visual materials that personally interests your students, it helps trigger associations between verbal and written languages. Students should be encouraged to take photographs or select images that interest them and write sentences that describe the images. By writing, viewing and talking about their selected subjects, students improve their abilities to express themselves--a skill that will carry over into regular academic activities. Communication is also encouraged because of the pride in sharing their interests.
Children with special education needs often have problems with pragmatics, which is use and comprehension of language in social situations. Working on pragmatics involves strengthening behaviors that help children give and receive information. For example, picking up non-verbal cues, misunderstanding jokes and not speaking for long periods of time need to be identified and addressed.
It's important for teachers of special needs children to formulate exercises that require them to participate in one-on-one conversations and help them choose the right words to get their points across.
Foreign language study has been proven to be a strong tool for brain development in average and special education children. As a result of foreign language studies, special education students can enjoy feelings of inclusion, in addition to giving them challenging and novel approaches to learning. Because learning foreign languages focuses on phonology--connecting and separating verbal and written sounds--special education students can benefit from breaking down sounds in their original languages and target languages.