The Transactional Model of Communication Development. ...communication development is viewed as a transactional process that involves a developmental interaction vis-a-vis the child and communicative partners. change in the child may trigger a change in the environment, which in turn affects the child and so on. In this way, both the child and the environment change over time and affect each other in a reciprocal fashion, and early achievements pave the way for subsequent development (Warren & Yoder, p. 368).