The Role of Nonverbal Communication to an Educator

After exploring the role of effective communication to an educator, I thought I would consider specifically nonverbal communication.  Verbal and written communication are most times thought about and planned in advance.  My research tells me that the majority of messages are sent in the form of nonverbal communication.  I would like to explore the role of nonverbal communication in the interaction with children and family support members of a child with disabilities and specifically ODD.  I found the information at the following link very interesting:

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/eq6_nonverbal_communication.htm

It has to be recognized when dealing with people with disabilities not all nonverbal communication can be interpreted as described. Even with typical people there has to be some confirmation before assuming these hold true, but I would feel confident to say that with the research on the subject that it is a great place to start. As a teacher these are good things to know so that you can coach family caregivers. I like the suggestion to ask positive question first to get people to open up when you see they are nonverbally closed or in a defensive position. I also think paying attention to signs of holding back like biting a lip and holding hands tight would help a teacher to know that if they are not able to get the person to open up then they should follow up at a later time.  There is more to be said that maybe they cannot share at that moment.

On the positive side it seems good to practice raising eyebrows if it helps others to smile.   

In doing this research I thought additional research maybe be helpful into how to hold a difficult conversation with others. There may be useful tools or techniques to keep in mind when talking to family members about their child with ODD.