Teaching Basic Gestures to Children with ASD – A Manual

For the child with issues in communication development, the use of gestures could be easier than speech and it is essential to stimulate and encourage the child in the use of gestures, so as to ensure communication between the child and the caregivers for his immediate needs. This booklet on gestures is a compilation of some basic gestures that therapists and families could adopt with the non-verbal child for everyday functional skills and needs, as well as a first step towards building speech-language skills. They have been designed to fit in the Indian context and have been field tested with children diagnosed with ASD.