When we interact with neurodiverse kids, our communication style matters, from the words we say to the tone we use, they all play an essential part in communication. 

 

Let’s take multichannel communication as a process of baking a cake. When we bake, we use various ingredients like flour, sugar, chocolate extract and milk to make our cake more flavorful and yummier. But imagine baking with just flour, without adding the other ingredients. How would the cake taste? Blend, dull and tasteless. The same goes for communication. 

 

While two-way communication should come naturally, we understand that conversing with neurodiverse children can be a challenge due to the lack of positive responses and feedback from kids. When parents are left with nothing productive to expand, they will lose the confidence and courage to continue the back-and-forth interaction with their children. Hence, parents of neurodiverse children tend to adopt a one-way static conversing style that revolves only in asking questions and getting answers. It’s challenging to maintain a meaningful connection with this type of communication style because children’s brains are not given the opportunity to learn how to communicate dynamically. Simply put, it’s like a cake with no sugar and milk; it can be dull and blend. 

 

The way we communicate affects how our children think and problem-solve. If we use dynamic languages to stimulate a growth mindset in children, they will learn how to communicate more effectively. Just because neurodiverse children do not provide productive feedback to the communication loop does not mean we should stop too. What if we can make the relationship more engaging and meaningful for neurodiverse families? Multichannel communication covers these few important features: