Therapy Options For GRIN

Therapy options for GRIN Disorders:

Even though there currently is no cure for GRIN, various treatment options and therapies exists that parents use to benefit their children. In this section, you find an extensive overview of treatment options, and we recommend to discuss with your doctors which therapies may benefit your child. This list is not all-comprising – feel free to send a note to board@grineurope.org when you came across a therapy that may benefit chidren as well.

Hanen Method or Hanen Therapy: cognitive/language therapy:

The Hanen (pronounced Hennen) Therapy is a form of indirect speech therapy. It focuses on the basic conditions for contact, communication, and the stimulation of language development in children. The Hanen Therapy is aimed at parents of children with a communicative disability and there is a special sub program directed at parents of young children with autism disorders  or the suspicion thereof. 

The Hanen Therapy aims to provide parents with insight in the world of experience of their children and teaches them to alter their attitude and behavior in such a way that their child feels free to respond. Communication and contact between parents and their child consequently improves and this creates the ideal conditions to stimulate the language development and the speech development of the child. In addition, improved communication contributes greatly to the well-being of both parents and child and it often also has a positive effect on the development of the child’s abilities for learning and playing.

The Hanen Therapy is based on three major principles: following, connecting and adding. 

Following consists of the parent observing what the child is doing and providing the child with the space to take the initiative in contact and in communication. Subsequently the parent connects with the child by providing the child with both verbal and non-verbal confirmation. This way the child knows that the parent is actively aware of what the child is doing and understands his or her meaning. Properly connecting with the child increases the child’s attention and builds on the contact. Finally, the parent adds his own experience and language to the exchange, thus inviting and stimulating the child to go along with the conversation and with the interaction. This way the parent encourages the child to be receptive to learning language and speech skills from the parent.

Although these are basic principles of all forms of communication, the Hanen Therapy shows us that insight in and awareness of these principles, makes it easier to use them when communication with your children requires more effort.