Helping Your Nonspeaking Child Be Heard: Simple Ways to Teach Pointing as a Meaningful Form of Communication

April is World Autism Month —the perfect time to celebrate the many ways children communicate and connect with others around the world. Autistic children have a wide range of communication styles and abilities, from non-speaking to highly verbal, and many move along that continuum over time to develop their own communication styles and preferences. Communication doesn’t look the same for every child, and that diversity is something that we recognize and celebrate at Sunny Spot Speech & Language Therapy, Inc.  As pediatric Speech-Language Pathologists, we often support nonspeaking children, as well as those who use a combination of spoken words and Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), in learning to express themselves through picture-based systems and speech-generating devices.

For all young children developing foundational communication skills, one simple yet powerful place to start is with pointing. In fact, typically developing infants can learn to point intentionally as early as 9-12 months of age. Pointing is more than a gesture—it’s an early, meaningful form of communication. It allows children to make choices, respond to questions, and show what they understand, even if they are not using spoken words. By learning to point, young children can gain a clear and accessible way to express themselves, while also helping caregivers better understand what they know and want to share.

Early communication gestures (precursor skills to pointing) may look like reaching toward or touching desired objects, looking at something that is named, or leading an adult by the hand toward a desired place or item.

When your child learns to point to an item named, they are building: 

• ✅ An understanding of words (receptive language)

• ✅ Increased attention and listening skills

• ✅ Early question-answer skills

• ✅ A foundation for using pictures, AAC, or speech to communicate

  
  

Below are simple ways you can help teach your child the communication skill of pointing and answering ‘Where’ questions in your everyday routines.

How to teach the skill of pointing with real objects:

Step 1: Start with two REAL objects that are very familiar to your child, such as a toy ‘ball and car’, a ‘cup and spoon’ etc. Place them in front of your child in close proximity - but just out of their reach. 

Step 2: Say your child’s name to gain their attention, then ask: “Where is the (object)?” 

Step 2: WAIT 5 seconds and observe how your child responds. Providing extra processing time is important, so try not to skip this step. During this wait time, notice whether your child is already using gestures when you ask, ‘Where is the + noun?’ For example, are they looking at the correct item or reaching towards the object you named? These early communication gestures are important first steps towards knowing if your child understands the question and the object being named. 

Step 3: After waiting 5 seconds, repeat the question, ‘Where is the ball?’ and then point to the object and say, “There’s the ball!” If your child already uses an AAC device or picture-based communication system, you can also point to the picture symbol for the object to model how the AAC system can be used to answer “Where” questions. 

Remember to accept ALL forms of communication!

Your child may respond in a variety of ways, including pointing, touching, looking or vocalizing.  It’s important to praise and acknowledge any form of communication that they show!  Continue to model the pointing gesture in a positive and encouraging way, and don’t get discouraged if your child does not imitate this skill right away. Language learning takes time, repeated practice, and multiple opportunities to try! For example, if your child looks over at the ball when you ask, ‘Where’s the ball?”  acknowledge their response by saying, ‘Yes, there’s the ball!” while pointing to it.

Other ways to practice this skill at home:

You can easily practice ‘Where’ questions during your normal routines and everyday interactions with your child:

• During Snack time - When your child is seated at the table, place two snack choices in front of your child and ask, ‘Where is the (apple)?” 

  
  

• During Play Time - Place two few toys near your child and ask them, ‘Where is the + toy”?

  
  

• During Reading - While looking at pictures in books or family photos around your home, ask, “Where is + (noun)?” and model pointing. This is also a great way to teach family member names.

  

  
  

• During ‘Hide-and-Seek’ Games - A simple game such as placing a blanket over your head and saying, ‘Where is mom/dad?’ can be fun and motivating. Reveal yourself and point while saying, “Here I am!”!

  
  

• While playing/singing songs - You can sing the song, “Where is Thumbkin” or create your own version. For example, when helping your child get dressed, sing, ‘Where is shoe? Where is shoe?....There it is!” while pointing to their shoe.

  
  

• Bath Time - line up a few bath toys on the edge of the bathtub and ask your child, ‘Where is the (toy)?”   You can also sing the song, ‘Where is + body part” (to tune of ‘Where is thumbkin’) while pointing each of the named body parts as you help wash them.

***If your child is not yet using single words to communicate by 15 months of age, early support can make a meaningful difference. Working with a pediatric speech-language pathologist through Early Intervention can help your child build foundational communication skills—whether that includes gestures like pointing, picture-based systems, or Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC).

ABOUT US:

Sunny Spot Speech provides private speech therapy services and evaluations for kids in home, online, at your child's preschool, daycare, private school, or at another community location throughout Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley. We have an incredible and growing team of bilingual (Spanish and English speaking) Los Angeles based Speech Language Pathologists who are knowledgeable in the assessment and treatment of a wide range of communicative disorders, including (but not limited to) children with Language Disorders and Developmental Delays, Hearing Loss, AAC users, Fluency disorders, Articulation and Phonological Disorders, Childhood Apraxia of Speech, and Gestalt Language Processors.