EECERA Conference 2025 – Guest Blog # 20: Rethinking Language Support in Early Childhood
Posted 18th August 2025
One of a series of short blog posts by presenters who will be sharing their work at the upcoming annual conference in Bratislava, Slovakia. Any views expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official stance of their affiliated institution or EECERA.
Rethinking Language Support in Early Childhood: A Neurodiversity-Informed, Participatory Approach
By Dr. Laura Trott – University College of Teacher Education Tyrol (Austria)
Photo by Ryan Wallace on Unsplash
Typical developmental milestones have long led us to believe that children follow similar language trajectories and require similar forms of support. Instead, language development is a deeply individual process, and these milestones capture only one part of a much broader developmental spectrum. Neurodivergent children may acquire language in ways that differ significantly from these established norms. If our support strategies rely solely on neurotypical trajectories, we risk excluding or inadequately supporting many children.
My research project addresses this challenge by developing a neurodiversity-informed, participatory approach to caregiver communication in ECEC. Rather than starting with the question of how to support “typical” or “atypical” children, I begin with the premise that all children acquire language differently—and that support strategies must be flexible, inclusive, and responsive to individual developmental pathways.
Rethinking Language Development: A Neurodiversity-Informed Lens
The neurodiversity paradigm (Bertilsdotter Rosqvist et al., 2020; Caniglia, 2018; Grummt, 2025) offers a helpful shift in perspective. It moves beyond the binary of neurotypical versus neurodivergent and instead recognizes that all brains function differently. Neurodivergence is associated with profiles such as autism, ADHD, developmental learning disorders, or giftedness—this framework encourages us to understand those differences as part of the natural variation of human cognition.
In the context of language acquisition, this means acknowledging that what supports one child’s development may not work for another—and that some children may acquire language outside the social interaction patterns we usually consider foundational. Research by Kissine et al. (2023) shows that joint attention—long considered a critical prerequisite for language development—may not play the same role for all children. Some acquire language even in the absence of conventional social engagement.
This insight challenges the assumptions underpinning many caregiver communication strategies currently used. For example, “follow the child’s lead” play routinesoftendepend on sustained eye contact and shared attention to an object, while language modelling techniquessuch as “commenting on what the child is looking at” presume that gaze direction reliably indicates focus of interest. For children whose language learning unfolds outside these conventional social engagement patterns, such strategies may be less effective or require significant adaptation.
From Deficits to Diversity: Shaping Caregiver Communication
Parents and ECEC professionals are central figures in children’s language development. Through everyday interactions, they scaffold vocabulary growth, sentence structure, and communication confidence. But what constitutes a “high-quality interaction” can vary depending on the child. Strategies that rely heavily on sustained joint attention or verbal responsiveness may not be accessible or effective for all learners.
My research explores a shared foundation of inclusive communication skills, combined with specific techniques that support individual needs. For example, some children may benefit from gesture-supported communication, while others respond better to repetition, reduced sensory input, or longer processing time.
The goal is to equip practitioners with the awareness and flexibility needed to engage all children meaningfully—recognizing that variation is the norm, not the exception.
Participatory Research: Learning With, Not About
To ensure the strategies we develop are relevant and practical, this project is grounded in participatory research. I work collaboratively with ECEC professionals and parents to co-create, test, and refine communication strategies in real-world settings. Through workshops, reflective discussions, and iterative fieldwork, participants will contribute their knowledge, reflect on their experiences, and help build a more inclusive framework for language support.
This participatory process does more than gather data; it facilitates professional learning and parent empowerment, building a shared language around neurodiversity, communication, and child development.
Ultimately, this project aims to:
- Improve communication outcomes for all children, especially those whose language development doesn’t follow conventional patterns;
- Empower caregivers (ECEC professionals and parents) with a deeper understanding of language diversity and flexible strategies to support it;
- Contribute to the professional discourse around inclusive pedagogy in ECEC by centring both research evidence and lived experience.
By embracing a neurodiversity-informed mindset and valuing the expertise of those closest to children’s daily lives, we can move toward a model of ECEC that genuinely supports the language development and well-being of every child.
Come join me at Supporting children’s language development for an open, thought-provoking chat about how kids learn to communicate in all their wonderfully different ways. I’m curious about your take on atypical language development, the neurodiversity paradigm in ECEC, and what it’s like working with neurodivergent children and their families. Let’s swap ideas—find me after the session or connect with me on LinkedIn!
Keywords: neurodiversity, language development, autism, early childhood education, caregiver communication, participatory research, inclusive pedagogy
Essential bibliography:
Bertilsdotter Rosqvist, H., Chown, N., & Stenning, A. (2020). Neurodiversity Studies: A New Critical Paradigm. Routledge & CRC Press.
Caniglia, E. (2018). Neurodiversità. Per una sociologia dell’autismo, dell’ADHD e dei disturbi dell’apprendimento. Meltemi.
Grummt, M. (2025). Neurodiversität. Die Sehnsucht nach kultureller Anerkennung, die Macht der neurotypischen Gesellschaft und Ansprüche an neurodiversitätsreflexive Pädagogik. Beltz Juventa.
Kissine, M., Saint-Denis, A., & Mottron, L. (2023). Language acquisition can be truly atypical in autism: Beyond joint attention. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 153, 105384. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105384
Dr. Laura Trott will present work referred to in this blog in Symposium Set F13 (Wednesday, the 27th of August). (Schedule liable to change; please refer to final programme for details).