More Than Words^®

If you are the parent of an autistic child or a child who may benefit from social communication support, you may be looking for practical strategies to support your child’s communication. Research shows that parents can have a big impact on their child’s social communication development by making the most of the everyday routines and interactions they already have with their child. At a More Than Words Program, you’ll learn how to support your child’s social communication while having fun interactions together!

About the More Than Words Program

More Than Words is a program developed by The Hanen Centre for parents of young autistic children (under age five) or children who may benefit from social communication support. It is specifically designed to give you practical and powerful strategies to support your child’s communication skills during everyday activities. A Hanen-certified speech-language pathologist leads the program, which is offered to a small group of parents.

The speech-language pathologist guides you every step of the way, helping you learn specific, research-based interaction strategies that you can use in your daily interactions with your child. Studies have been published that show the More Than Words Program supports social communication skills in children while giving parents feelings of increased confidence. The program is periodically reviewed to ensure that it is based on the most current research.

By learning in a small group with other parents, you get to connect with other parents who are looking for ways to support their child’s social communication skills. Not only do you walk away from the program with powerful strategies to support your child’s communication but you receive invaluable support and insight from other families who share similar experiences.

Program Components

The More Than Words Program takes place once a week over 13 weeks.

The program includes:

• A pre-program consultation with the speech-language pathologist. The speech-language pathologist completes an assessment of your child’s social communication skills and then you and the speech-language pathologist work together to set goals for your child.
• Eight two and a half hour sessions for a small group of parents, led by the Hanen speech-language pathologist.
• Three individual video feedback sessions which take place between the group sessions for parents – you and your child are recorded while playing. Then you and the speech-language pathologist review and discuss the recording to see what’s working and how you can modify your use of the strategies to support your child.

What you learn in a More than Words Program

When you join a More Than Words Program, you learn:

• How to use your knowledge about your child’s strengths to set appropriate and realistic goals
• How child-led play leads to fun back-and-forth interactions
• How to identify and include your child's sensory preferences in fun engaging activities
• How to turn everyday activities into opportunities to support your child’s communication
• How to help your child understand what you say
• How to join in on your child’s favourite things to do and help them develop their communication skills while having fun together

The More Than Words Telepractice Program

The Hanen Centre has developed a telepractice version of the More Than Words Program, which means the entire program is offered online. The telepractice model allows you to attend the program from the comfort of your own home and interact with your child in an environment familiar to them.

A telepractice program is similar to taking an online class. The parent-only sessions are live, and you log in to a videoconferencing software that makes it easy to interact with your speech-language pathologist and the other parents in the group.

There are separate video feedback sessions for just you and your child, when the speech-language pathologist records you interacting with your child while you apply the strategies you have learned. You and your speech-language pathologist then review and discuss the recording, which helps you identify what’s working well and what you can modify to support your child even more.

Technology needs

To participate in a telepractice program, you need the following equipment:

• A computer, iPad, or tablet (smartphones and cell phones do not have a large enough screen)
• Webcam and microphone
• High speed internet
• Email access
• Adobe reader (free download)
• Printer or scanner or photo capture and transfer (if you want to print out the handouts)