Dysphasia... How to act with them??

Question

A friend of mine has a daughter with dysphasia. I wonder how I should act with her, when I'm around her, to make her feel comfortable with me.

From what I hear, she speaks well. So the problem would be understanding and learning?

Thank you all for your answers...

Answer 1

Act normal around her. Try not to over articulate your speech otherwise she might feel your discomfort. Always smile a lot and if you're close with this family, praise her when she does speak well.
Would her mom (your friend) be open to suggestions? Maybe you can approach her and tell her you're unsure of how to act. But I think if you're tactful you'll have no problem.
Good luck, and just be yourself. Children, dysphagic or not, can be acutely aware of grown ups' discomfort-so don't let her see you sweat!

Answer 2

Find out whether she has an expressive dysphasia or a receptive dysphasia. If it is just expressive, then she understands what you are saying but cannot reply in a clearly understandable way. Then you have to take pains to try to understand her, which takes time and work and patience. If she has a receptive dysphasia, that's a tough one. You can then only communicate on a very primitive level - with body language such as facial expressions and if you are lucky, sign language. It depends upon what her deficits are.

Answer 3

Just think of how you would like someone to act if you was the one with a child with a sever problem like that..... Always remember the golden rule "DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU"........She is a child and most likely will need all the love and affection that everyone around her can give to her.......

Answer 4

Be yourself. Act as you would with any friend's child. talk to her. Interact with her. If she can nod yes and no, ask yes and no questions about herself/ how she feels/ what she likes. Be her friend.

Answer 5

act normally. she has trouble speaking, may have trouble understanding. ask your friend.