The Language of the Individual

Imagine you are sitting on the couch in a room filled with people. Chatter fills the air, and contagious laughter echoes through the space. Suddenly, a little child toddles up to you and starts babbling away in gibberish. You nod your head while everyone around you looks puzzled. The child grabs your hand, and you follow, understanding exactly where you are heading. The rest of the room falls into an astonished silence as they question the little child's language and how you managed to understand it.

Speaking the language of children is a unique skill, and if you're fortunate enough to be close to a young child, you might develop this ability. To the untrained ear, the whines and gibberish children use to express their needs and wants may seem like utter nonsense. However, to a close family member or friend, these random noises and sounds make complete sense.

This past summer, I worked as a swim lesson teacher, and one of my students was a 2-year-old boy with autism. He couldn't articulate words, but he had his own unique language of noises. I spent many hours of the summer with this little boy, slowly understanding more about him. By the end, I could easily decipher his wants, emotions, and how to assist him. We formed an incredible connection through his unique language, a language that few others understood. He learned to be an exceptional swimmer and how to save himself in case of an emergency. Many teachers before me had tried to teach him, but it wasn't until I could comprehend his language that he began to make progress.

He taught me that learning to communicate clearly with others is vital in any aspect of life. Although he has now begun to speak certain words and specific phrases, our connection remains strong. I can still understand his needs even when he can't express them in words. Language is crucial in the world, and learning a new language of any type can be a challenging and time-consuming process. However, if you put in the effort, the bonds you create are worth it.

Some may argue that it's not worth learning the language of little children because they will grow out of it. I believe that those first few years of life are crucial to a child's development. During this time, they create connections and bonds that will last a lifetime. Spending time learning how they communicate benefits both them and you in countless ways. Since they will eventually learn to communicate as adults do, we can learn to speak their language while they are still learning.
 
The next time you have the opportunity to spend time with little kids before they can speak fluently, take the time to learn their language. It will help you develop a strong bond with them and reduce frustration, confusion, and conflict. Effective communication will be an important aspect of their entire lives, and teaching them early to communicate with those they may not understand clearly is a vital life skill. It is up to us as adults to bridge the gap between the verbal and non-verbal. This bridge creates a connection that would otherwise result in miscommunication, frustration on the part of the child, and lost opportunities for understanding. By taking the time to understand a child's unique language, you build your identity as someone who truly cares to connect with others and opens a portal for the child to flourish and express themselves more clearly.