
Developed in the 1980’s by Dave Hewett Ph.D and Melanie Nind Ph.D, who were
both teachers at a school for children with Learning Difficulties.

Intensive Interaction is a communication approach that supports the learning and social
needs of people who are still at early stages of communication development.
It is about tuning into the person by listening and observing how and when a person is
trying to communicate and by responding at their level of understanding.
It is joining someone in their own world, following their lead and using their ‘language’.
It is a way of learning to communicate and build meaningful, equal relationships with
people who have significant communication and interaction difficulties.
It is an approach where the main tools are the adult’s face, voice and body language.





The principles of the Intensive Interaction approach are similar to those we see in the
interactions between a parent and an infant e.g. the adult joins the child in their own
world, they give plenty of time, they engage face to face, they mirror and extend the child’s
own communication, they follow the child’s lead, have fun, notice and responds to
everything, provides lots of repetition etc.

Intensive Interaction teaches the Fundamentals of Communication which are foundations
which underpin further learning and language development. They are:
Learning how to have fun with other people – learning how to play
Learning to give, extend and share attention with another person – then developing such
shared attention into and across sociable or joint ‘activities’
Learning about the significance of proximity and sharing personal space
Learning how to take turns in exchanges of behaviour
Learning to use and understand eye contact within social interactions
Learning about non-verbal communication such as gestures, facial expressions and body
language
Learning to use and understand vocalisations, developing more varied and extensive
vocalisations that gradually become more precise and meaningful
Learning to regulate and control emotional responses and arousal levels















to enjoy the wonder, joy and fulfilment of communication and relationships
to provide an environment where the learning of the fundamentals of communication is
possible
to open up a variety of other experiences
to reduce challenging behaviour
People who are at an early stage of communication development and/or are ‘hard to reach’
People who have difficulties with interacting and communicating with those around them,
who may or may not have a diagnosis of Autism.
People who have few or limited communication behaviours




People who lack the social abilities needed for engaging with other people
People who may have ritualistic, aggressive, self-involved or self-injurious behaviours
Other approaches have not been successful
People who do not yet know that being with another person can be unthreatening and even
pleasurable.

Anywhere and anytime!!

Quality one-to-one time: Like parent-infant interaction, Intensive Interaction usually takes
place in situations where the two people have time to focus on each other.
Put the learner (the person you are using intensive interaction with) at the centre of what
you do. Take your lead from the learner about when they want to interact, how they want
to interact, and where they want to interact.
Be available: position your body and face so that you are accessible to the learner.
Keep your facial expression interested and relaxed.
‘Tune-in’: You, the more experienced person, need to sensitively ‘tune-in’ to all the
feedback signals from the learner. This may be their voice, facial expression, body language,
movement or gesture. Everything you do will be based on reading feedback from the other
person.
Tempo/speed: Go slowly, and hold back your behaviour to allow the learner to take the
lead.
Responsiveness: build the content and the flow of the interaction by responding to things
the learner does.
Imitation/copying/joining-in: this is the most frequently used way of responding. This is
easy to do and it helps the learner understand that your actions are in response to what
they have done (cause and effect.)
Use simple behaviour: Try to keep your behaviour very simple and uncomplicatedmirroring behaviours and joining in usually makes sure of this.
Pauses: Be prepared at all times to pause, wait, and allow the learner time to think and
process so that the activity happens at a comfortable speed. Try to resist the desire to
‘drive’ the activity forward.
Mutual enjoyment: The main motivation and reward for interacting with another person
should be mutual enjoyment. Communication needs to be spontaneous, playful and fun. Be
prepared to enjoy yourself!
Try altering what you do and watch to see if this leads to the learner responding – do they
do it too? Do they show that they have noticed that it’s different? Do they alter what they
do in response?
Be responsive to when the learner has had enough - Intensive Interaction can be quite
intense, but don’t let this stop you from trying again.
Don't be afraid of trial and error – you are learning too!













For further information and/ or support please contact your child’s Speech and Language Therapist
or take a look at:
www.intensiveinteraction.co.uk