The following excerpt is from Dr. Steven Gutstein’s online June 2004 Newsletter and can be found at the following link, www.rdiconnect.com/archive/newsletters/06032004

Language is a subset of communication
The fact is, spoken language is just another way we communicate, and the core difficulties of autism such as Referencing and Co-regulation (covered in recent newsletters), simply extends from non-verbal behavior, into the use of language. Typical children learn how to reference and co-regulate interactions well before they learn how to speak. They become competent in both sending and receiving non-verbal communications to share emotions and experiences; then as they learn how to talk, they extend their referencing and regulating abilities into their use of language.

However, those with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) travel a different path; they do not become competent in Referencing and Co-regulation before learning to speak. Therefore, when they learn to speak (with or without the help of traditional speech therapy), it may be a relief to parents who see this as a "normal" developmental milestone, but it only masks the fundamental underlying disorder.

What is language for?
Certainly the "instrumental" (means to an end) language learned by those on the spectrum can be used for social appropriateness (from learning "please" and "thank you" to even functional use in school or work settings), for making requests or demands, and for posing questions or expounding on facts. And all these are important. But they completely miss the experience-sharing functions which are so vital to the rest of us. Sadly, for people on the spectrum, their limited use of language becomes just another layer on top of the fundamental obstacle of sharing emotions and experiences.

If you've ever had a conversation with a highly verbal child with AS who incessantly bombards you with seemingly random information questions, oblivious to your growing discomfort or boredom despite the subtle and direct cues your provide, you know how language can be a tremendous obstacle to experience-sharing. Similarly, if you have had to do all the co-regulation and repair to maintain coherence and coordination with a person on the spectrum, (what we call a pseudo-conversation) you will also understand this. Without the desire for sharing or the use of emotional coordination, conversation becomes shallow, uninteresting and decidedly one-sided.

What is Declarative Language?
So how do we use language for experience-sharing? Typically, when you or I want to (verbally) share our experiences, we do so in a variety of different ways. We will:

 make narrative sentences about joint experiences, ("Remember when we were setting the table so fast and the spoon shot off the table?")
 make exclamations, ("Look! There's a giant spider!")
 make comments on another's actions, ("Mistletoe loved playing with the cicadas.")
 give compliments, ("Your new puppy is so cute.")
 or make simple statements about ourselves ("I am excited about that." "We had a good time today.") 

We call this social-sharing type of language, "declarative." Declarative communication is when we verbally and/or nonverbally share something in our experience with no specific response required (other than some indication that we exist and that what we're sharing has value.) For non-ASD children, learning this type of communication happens virtually automatically. But individuals with ASD appear to learn to communicate almost exclusively for instrumental (means to an end) purposes. In fact, one study found that children on the autism spectrum used declaratives less than 1% of the time, in high contrast to other types of developmentally-delayed children, who used declaratives over 33% of the time!

What is Imperative Language?
So what were the children on the spectrum using? They were using imperatives: making requests, asking questions and making demands, all language which is used for instrumental purposes. Researchers have noted this lack of declarative language in individuals on the spectrum, regardless of their cognitive or language abilities. This phenomena is actually a reflection of the way people with ASD think, because the way we think shapes our communication, just as much as the way we communicate shapes our thinking.

Declarative communication is really about an intent and the use of declarative language reflects a specific kind of interaction. It's about wanting to share the actions, emotions, perceptions, ideas, feelings, opinions, preferences or beliefs of the person you are with. It's for the reciprocal exchange of ideas and requires genuine mutual curiosity. So using declaratives is about more than sentence structure. It's more than teaching a person with ASD about what declaratives are and rewarding them when they use them in the right places and proportion in a conversation. Again, this would be just as cruel as teaching a severely dyslexic child to pretend to read.

The following excerpt was taken from a post on the Connections Center message board and was written by Geni Moots Plotnick, Certified RDI Provider.

 Examples of Declarative vs. Imperative Communication

IMPERATIVES

Want to play?

Is that your red jacket?

Would you like apples or oranges?

What is that?

Is it time to feed the dog?

Can you turn the TV off?

What do you want?

That's heavy, isn’t it?

Where is your foot?

Oh, do you want a bike?

Should we toss it like this?

Do you think that monkey is happy?

Who is that?

Its really cold, isn’t it?

Should we get your planner out?

Are you drawing circles?

Did you sneeze?

Are you having trouble tying your shoes?

What should we do tomorrow?

Is this your favorite book?

Those are big dogs, aren't they?

DECLARATIVES

Wow.

I like this.

 I am so tired.

You must have been hungry.

You forgot your jacket.

Your sister is sleeping.

That is a very cute pig.

You bumped your knee.

Oops, that's broken.

We're ready.

The dogs are barking.