Support for oral language development in autistic kindergarten students: Strategies for the teacher-child interaction

Some children with autism spectrum disorder have not yet developed fluent verbal language by the time they enter school. There is little scientific literature about how to support their oral language development in the classroom. The purpose of this article is to describe the main interactional strategies a teacher uses with an autistic student to support language development. A large body of data was collected in specialized kindergarten classes and was qualitatively analyzed by combining the ethnography of the communication and conversational analysis: ethnographic observations, video recordings and semi-directed interviews. The results show that oral communication support is one part of a complex linguistic multimodality, while emphasizing support for the child's verbal skills. The teacher then uses various support strategies throughout the speaking rounds, responding to the child's interest in the interaction. She continuously works orally with the child, whether in a planned or unplanned context, through careful and constant mutual adjustment. This article provides a better understanding of the support children with language difficulties need in order to participate fully in interactions, an essential factor in their educational and academic success.