Circles of Communication
By: Holly Brown, Summer Intern
If you were to sit back and watch without knowing what to look for, a good therapy session may looking like disorganized play. Trust me, this was me just a couple of months ago. Over the course of my internship, though, I’ve learning that those widening eyes and glances mean a lot more than you may realize; they are ways of engaging in a back-and-forth known as a circle of communication!
What is a circle of communication?
The term circle of communication is coined within the DIR (Developmental, Individual differences, Relationship-based) Floortime model of treatment and describes a purposeful dialogue between you and your kid. Recognizing that intentional communication can take on many forms, these circles come in all different sizes. Some may be large and harder to miss while others are subtle, harder to count, but especially powerful for non-speaking children. Entire exchanges can be maintained with affect alone through things like gestures, smiles, and looks–all of which hold meaning when a response is given.
How do circles of communication work?
A circle can be opened by a small initiation–say, a glance from your child. Building on that glance, you may look back at them. Then, the child is able to close the circle by reaching out or even turning away in response to you. These circles can be subtle, but through them the child learns that he or she is “a person of volition, someone who can actively choose to do things, knowing that [their] actions will cause a result” (Capacity 3).
How can Therapists build on these circles of communication?
At AID-L, we have several therapists who have completed various levels of training within the DIR/Floortime model, allowing them to implement this into their sessions. A commonly-written connection goal for children is that they are able to both initiate and close circles on their own. Firstly, initiation is an outward sign of your child’s appreciation of their power and understanding of purpose. Some of the most common examples of a child’s attempt to open a circle include reaching out to you, vocalizing, touching your hair, or smiling. Then, the equally important skill of closing circles must be developed.
After completing isolated circles with both you and the kid taking turns initiating and closing, the next step is to look for a continuous flow of interaction with your child (or multiple overlapping circles). A study conducted by Harvard’s The Center on the Developing Child validated that lots of back-and-forth “build a strong foundation in a child’s brain for all future learning and development” (5 Steps).
What can you do at home to promote circles of communication?
There are many ways caregivers can help encourage this type of communication. Here are some do’s and don’ts to consider from the DIR/Floortime guide:
Do simultaneously exercise as many of the seeing, smelling, hearing, touching, and moving elements of your child’s nervous system as you can while the two of you interact.
This can take on many different forms–maybe you offer options of toys that make sounds when they are shaken or buttons are pressed to engage touch and hearing. Use your surroundings to your advantage here and be creative during play!
Don’t be a ringmaster and direct the way your child’s play unfolds. Follow your child’s lead and help him or her use his or her interests to give direction and organization to new abilities.
Child-led play is essential for development. Though this can be tricky, your patience in waiting long enough to give your child the opportunity to respond and willingness to take the passenger’s seat teaches the child how to influence things around them. One technique that can be used to practice this “is called ‘playful obstruction,’ which looks like intentionally giving them the wrong thing, saying the wrong thing, making [the kid] expand, making them work” (Joy). This extends the interaction, but it may lead to losing your child’s attention–which is okay, because then you know what their limits are for the next playtime together!
Do play lots of emotionally pleasurable games for longer times. The more interactive play times you share, the more fun you’ll have. Seek out the magic moments!
You, as the caregiver, should enjoy these interactions as well! It’s a beautiful thing to have sustained shared joy and connection with your kid! A continuous flow of back-and-forth signaling is one method of “defeating the need to be impulsive or withdrawn” that your child may feel in dysregulation, and, as a result, benefits the child-caregiver relationship (Brown).
When you are able to get past the idea that communication is only possible through specific language, circles of communication become memorable exchanges that unlock a new way for a kid to impact the world around them. Make a game out of it and see how many back-and-forths you can get going–circles of communication are powerful!
References
Brown, D. (2022, April 6). Circles of communication in floortime. We Chose Play. https://affectautism.com/2018/07/02/circles/.
Capacity 3: Purposeful two-way communication. Home of DIRFloortime® (Floortime). https://www.icdl.com/dir/fedcs/capacity-3.
Joy. (2021, May 12). Nonverbal autism: Circles of communication. Autism Early Learning. https://autismearlylearning.com/circles-of-communication/.
5 steps for brain-building serve and return. Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2020, October 29). https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/5-steps-for-brain-building-serve-and-return/.
