Noncompliance- Saying 'No'

Noncompliance...

What is noncompliance?

The definition of noncompliance is "the failure to act in accordance with a wish or command"

Simply put... it's when someone does not do what you want them to do. 

I am mostly so excited to talk about this topic this week because of...

This AWESOME shirt! "Noncompliance is a social skill" from realsocialskills.org

It really is the best.

I want to start out by saying that I, by no means, am here to say that kids should be able to say NO whenever they want to. 

This is life, and sometimes we have to do things we don't want to (I'm sure I can get an AMEN for that!) 

What I AM here to say is that, especially for our kiddos who are nonverbal, or those who don't communicate using words, the chance to say NO, stop, don't, etc. is SO important. 

For those of you who don't know I am also an SLP at a school for students with special needs. I encourage teachers to teach their students that it's O.K. to say 'No'.

Ways to Encourage NO, STOP, DON'T:

👍 Acknowledge that they said it. Whether they use their voice, signs, gestures, screams, or with Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC), just saying "I heard you, and I get it, but we have to do... xyz"

👍 Let them get out of the task at hand, for just a moment of time. This will let your kiddo know that you hear them, AND that you listen to them.

👍 Hey, let them get out of the activity all together! If they protest (no, stop, don't, I'm finished) appropriately, give them more options of things they can do instead.

Letting our kiddos know that we hear them and that we will listen to them, especially for those of our kids that are behind, means the world to them. If they know we are listening when they say no, they may try and continue that communication in other aspects of their lives. 
Just like we have the opportunity to say no, we want them to be able to learn that skill as well.

I have students that use behaviors frequently to get out of unwanted activities/tasks. The moment we teach them an appropriate way to say 'No' or maybe even just asking for a break, they turn into different children!

So here's the end. CHEERS to saying NO 😊👏

Thanks for reading!

Until next time, 

Kassi, the Phoenix Speech Therapist