Tips and guidelines for using Avaz
Use Avaz consistently everyday with your child. Start small. Use Avaz for about 15-20 mins a day, during an activity or daily routine, till you as a communication partner feels comfortable. Gradually increase the time and the number of activities or daily routine. In school, get Avaz included in the school communication sessions or have it integrated with the school curriculum to ensure it is done everyday. The ultimate goal is to have AAC at all times and use it at all times.
Let every family member use Avaz - Make all family members interact with the child (parents, siblings, teachers, friends) using Avaz.
Acknowledge all forms of communication attempts - If your child points anything or makes an attempt to communicate, don't ignore it, however insignificant or irrelevant it may seem. Acknowledge the child's non-verbal communication by modelling on Avaz what the child has communicated through gestures or other means, expand on it and keep the conversation going. Click here for How do I respond to the child's attempt to communicate?
Give Time for a response - If you've asked a question, give your child TIME to respond. If they don't respond immediately, wait for at least 10-15 seconds or even upto a whole minute, depending on the child. Don't repeat the question in different ways before allowing them a chance to respond.
Don't limit your interaction to just Questions, requests or instructions - use more of comments, greetings, opinions, feelings etc. - a wide range of reasons for which we communicate. This is also referred to as communication pragmatics. Read more about it What are the various purposes or pragmatics of Communication?
