Non-Verbal Communication And Rigidity

Non-Verbal Communication and Rigidity

Underdeveloped gestural communication also posed problem in Jo’s non-verbal communication. Teachers and classmates pointed out to Ana that Jo had problem with non-verbal cues like facial expressions and body language. Jo’s facial expressions often mismatched with what he said, such as pouting when he mentioned something joyful. This incongruence impeded Jo to pick up others’ facial expressions, tone of voice and gestures correctly, making the “give-and-take” of social interaction very difficult for him and others. Besides, Jo avoided eye-contact and had limited gestures all the way since he was a baby. Anyhow, teachers revealed that Jo possessed some other peculiar postures and ways of moving. His rigidity had extended to his body posture – he acted like a robot, and made robot-like move around the school. On class observation day, Ana once saw Jo walking like a crab in school corridor. Ana also observed Jo manifesting rigidity in his behaviours, activities, and interests both at school and home. Jo was obsessed in lining things up in a particular order; he spent much time arranging toy cars in his classroom and home according to size. He was so obsessed in watching spinning objects like the ceiling fan in his classroom in a way that teachers had to switch it off to get his attention back to lessons. Jo also exhibited unstoppable and uncontrollable movement (flapping hands) repeatedly. Additionally, teachers addressed Jo’s unusual