About Adam
Adam is 3 years and 1 month old. He is non-verbal and has recently been referred for a specialist diagnosis for autism. Adam’s home language is Yoruba.
So far, it is unclear how much English he understands, however he responds well to animals’ names and nursery rhymes. He joins in by smiling and copying actions.
Adam communicates by making noises; gestures and eye contact; pointing; grabbing and holding an adult’s hand to take him to what he wants. He also expresses himself through emotional responses such as crying, laughing or facial expressions. He loves adult attention.
Adam enjoys looking at books with numbers or wild animals: elephants are his favourite. He focusses on them for a long time and imitates their noises. He loves turning pages in the book and is skilled at this, hardly missing a page.
Our interactions
Here is a series of interactions I had with Adam. I was guided by:
- my knowledge of Adam
- his developmental stage
- the evidence-based ShREC approach: I highlight the four strategies (as I use them) in bold.
One morning I notice that Adam is sitting on the carpet in the book corner on his own. He is looking at a book of animals.
I sit quietly in front of him without getting too close – this gives him time to notice me, and I can judge whether he is accepting me in his personal space. He seems comfortable about me sharing attention (Sh) with him.
Adam looks at me as I take an interest in him. I smile in response (R). He comes closer and takes my hand, pulling it towards the book.
T: “Oh you want me to look at the book with you?” I use the expand strategy (E) by verbalising his gesture.
A: Looks at the book
T: “Look here’s a GIRAFFE”. I emphasise the word giraffe to expand his vocabulary.
A: Turns the page
T: “I can see an OWL, look an OWL”. Again, I am using expand to develop his vocabulary.
A: Looks at the page and turns to the next
T: “Here’s an ELEPHANT, your favourite animal” I say it excitedly, repeating the expand strategy.
A: Looks at it closely then imitates an elephant sound loudly, “HNEE”, lifting his hand up like a trunk
T: To let him know that I am in tune with him, I mirror his action and repeat the sounds he’s making, “HNEE”
A: “HNEE, HNEE!” he says and jumps up and down
T: “HNEE! You love elephants, don’t you?” I smile
A: He looks at me and smiles back.
T: “An elephant goes STOMP!” I stomp around.
A: Smiles and stomps
T: “You are stomping like an elephant.” I join in.
A: He makes more elephant sounds
T: “The Big Elephant goes stomp, stomp, stomp all day long” (I sing this to the tune of The Wheels on the Bus - a song he knows well)
A: Smiles and stomps
We repeat the song and actions together.
We’ve had a delightful back and forth conversation (C).
How my use of research evidence worked for Adam
Using these four strategies of the ShREC approach helped Adam build on his communication and interactions.
I shared attention by getting down to his level and engaging in the activity of his choice.
Fliss James (2025) highlights this:
“Getting down to the child’s level and engaging in their choice of activity provides a crucial opportunity to pay attention to what they look at, what they do, and what they say. Sensitively joining in with a child’s play motivates them to communicate with you." (EEF)
I responded by looking and smiling at him, communicating that I value what he’s doing and want to spend time with him.
I expanded his vocabulary by modelling new words and verbalising his actions. Importantly, I included some of these words in different contexts during the next few days, thus reinforcing them. For example, I STOMPED in the garden (saying the word as we did) and pointed out the OWL in the Owl Babies book.
Our attuned, high-quality interactions led to a lively back-and- forth conversation (C) between us.
Question for reflection
- Reflect on a child who is non-verbal - which are your most effective ways of responding to them?
- How might you reinforce any new vocabulary that you introduce?
Want to know more?
Grenier, J (2024): Find out more about our online resources to support high-quality interactions Education Endowment Foundation
EEF resource (2025) : Improving early education through high-quality interactions
James, F (2025): The ShREC approach : 4 evidence-informed strategies to promote high-quality interactions with young children. Education Endowment Foundation.