Practice Active Listening
If your child can talk, active listening is a way to encourage them. Leaning in, keeping eye contact and nodding can provide positive feedback to help your child share what is on their mind. The photo above shows Mikey talking and his friend T, actively listening.
Even before your child can talk, you can actively pay attention to them. If they lack the ability to generate words independently, you can help put words to the world around them. Modeling active listening and simple speech can provide a powerful example for your child.
Doesn’t Mikey look like he is listening closely to Sonny’s every thought? He has had many good examples of active listeners throughout his life, so he knows what it looks like. Wink.
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About the Author
Erica Mauro is a mom to two teenage boys, Will who is neurotypical and Michael with Autism and cognitive delays. She holds a BA in Psychology from Colgate University and a Masters of Psychology in Education from Columbia Teacher’s College. Before staying home with her children, she worked as an elementary school teacher. For five years, she served on the Board of Directors of the Molly Ann Tango Memorial Foundation, a charity dedicated to enriching the lives of children with special needs. In partnership with her husband Dave, she aspires to parent by using daily life as an opportunity for therapeutic intervention, seizing on real experiences as opportunities to build skills and strategies for Michael in a joyful, loving home environment. On the tougher early days, she just tried to get everyone safely to bedtime and start fresh in the morning. *wink* 
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