What is Functional Communication?

Functional communication plays an important role in everyday situations. They are our basic communication skills, extending beyond just allowing our wants and needs to be known. In early childhood, functional communication is crucial for children to be able to express themselves, understand others, and engage in meaningful interactions. Children use functional communication to send and receive some of their earliest messages, like expressing needs (ex: signing “more”, mama), making requests (ex: pointing, asking for help), rejecting (ex: no, shaking head), sharing emotions (ex: using facial expressions), engaging with others, following directions, and sharing information. Functional communication targets communication skills needed for daily activities, social interactions, and academic success.

Within the first year of a child’s development, functional communication typically presents with gestures, like reaching for desired objects, pointing, or waving. These skills develop later into words, phrases, and sentences. Children with difficulty with these early communication skills may become frustrated with the barriers of being misunderstood or having difficulty getting their needs met, resulting in challenging behaviors. This may also be attributed to an underlying developmental difference or diagnosis, such as autism. Within speech therapy or applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy, both disciplines work on functional communication by addressing communication challenges and teaching functional communication (LaRue, R., Weiss, M. J., & Cable, M. K., 2009).

As a parent, where do we begin?

Functional communication goals are individualized, based on an individual’s strengths, challenges, and needs. For example, a child may need to work on more receptive language skills, such as understanding directions, prior to addressing expressive language skills. Information on communication milestones can be found at LinguiSystems: Listening (Flahive, 2012) or the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) milestones web site.

 After gathering information on a child’s present functional communication skills, their individual styles and needs are taken into consideration. For example, a consideration would include whether the child is speaking or non-speaking.

 If a child is speaking, the child may be demonstrating echolalia and be a Gestalt Language Processor (GLP). The child may be able to recite Wheels on the Bus and ABCs or lines from their favorite Paw Patrol episode, and these are great skills that can be transformed into communication that is better understood by others! If the child is developing verbal speech and is delayed, working with the child and family on language strategies during daily routines can assist in building functional communication skills.

If the child is non-speaking or has complex communication needs, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) can be taken into consideration. No specific prerequisites (e.g., age, cognitive, linguistic, motor) for getting started with AAC (ASHA, 2024). AAC includes gestures, body language, sign language, picture communication, core communication boards, and voice-output devices. The goal with AAC is not to replace spoken communication, but to bridge the gap between a child’s present communication skills and the ability of others to understand them.  

It’s never too early to seek help. Reach out to your pediatrician, your state early intervention agency, or a speech-language pathologist with your concerns!

As a therapist, where do we begin?

One of the first steps to establish the strengths of the communicator. A helpful list of 16 questions to ask parents or caregivers regarding functional communication skills is below:

1. Does your child respond to their name?
2. How does your child tell you what they want, need, don’t want? (Please list words, gestures such as pointing, hand leading, vocalizations, signs)
3. Does your child repeat sounds, words, or phrases verbally? (Please list sounds, environmental noises, animal sounds, songs, TV shows, movie lines)
4. What kinds of directions does your child follow at home? (Please list safety, routines, 1-step directions, 2-step directions)
5. What are some directions your child follows well?
6. What are some directions your child struggles with?
7. What toys does your child play with?
8. What are some things your child likes to play with?
9. Who does your child interact with?
10. Who does your child interact with most frequently?
11. How much do you understand your child?
12. How much do unfamiliar listeners understand your child?
13. Does your child enjoy books? Which ones?
14. What are some of your child’s strengths?
15. What are your concerns about your child’s communication?
16. What would you like your child to be able to do?

Alternatively, more thorough tools, such as the Functional Communication Profile or the Communication Matrix can be used to assess the beginning stages of communication. These can take 5 to 45 minutes, depending on the communicative behaviors of the child.

With this baseline, clinicians can work on individualizing their approach to empower individuals to express themselves effectively in everyday situations.  It should be noted that collaborative approach involving speech-language pathologists, individuals, and their support networks is essential for the success of functional communication interventions. This ensures that strategies are tailored to the individual’s specific needs and that progress is supported across various environments.

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