Communicating with people with learning disabilities

Summary

The video script discusses the challenges faced by people with learning disabilities in communication, including comprehension, processing time, expressive language, and articulation. It highlights the importance of the Accessible Communication Standard introduced in 2016, which mandates clear and understandable information for those with learning disabilities. The script also suggests various communication methods such as sign language, pictorial resources, and apps. It advises considering the environment, allowing processing time, speaking slowly, using simple language, avoiding jargon, and employing a total communication approach to ensure effective interaction.

Takeaways

• 🗣️ Communication for people with disabilities can be challenging due to issues with comprehension, processing time, expressive language, or articulation.
• 🧐 People often overestimate or underestimate the communicative abilities of individuals with disabilities, leading to misunderstandings.
• 📈 In 2016, the Accessible Communication Standard was introduced to ensure that healthcare services provide information in an understandable way for people with disabilities.
• 🏥 The standard applies to various healthcare professionals, including doctors, pharmacists, and social workers.
• 🤔 Communication methods for individuals with disabilities include sign language, objects of reference, pictorial resources, iPad apps, and interpreting body language.
• 👂 Consider the environment when communicating, ensuring good lighting, reduced noise, and appropriate distance for visual cues.
• ⏱️ Allow processing time for individuals with learning disabilities, as they may take longer to understand and respond to information.
• 🗣️ Speak slowly and clearly, emphasizing key words, to accommodate extended processing times.
• 🔎 Use simple and short language, avoiding medical jargon and considering the context of words to prevent misunderstandings.
• 💡 Be aware that abstract or metaphorical language can be confusing; use literal language instead.
• 📚 Adopt a total communication approach, utilizing various methods such as writing, drawing, signing, and physical objects to enhance understanding.

Q & A

What is the basic definition of communication?

Communication is the exchange of information from one person to another using any means possible.

Why might people with disabilities have difficulty with communication?

People with disabilities might have difficulty with comprehension, processing time, expressive language, or articulation, which can affect their communication abilities.

How can people's communicative abilities be misjudged?

Communicative abilities can be overestimated or underestimated based on physical impairments or verbal abilities, leading to incorrect assumptions about comprehension.

What is the Accessible Communication Standard introduced in 2016?

The Accessible Communication Standard outlines that all health and social care services should provide information in an easy-to-understand way for people with learning disabilities, impairments, or sensory losses, and it should be followed by law.

What is the goal of the Accessible Communication Standard?

The goal is to ensure better outcomes and experiences for people with learning disabilities and to make sure everyone understands what's involved in their health.

What are some communication methods that people with disabilities might use?

Methods include Makaton sign language, objects of reference, pictorial resources, iPad apps, interactive devices, and interpreting body language, gestures, and facial expressions.

Why is considering the environment important when communicating with people with disabilities?

It's important to ensure the environment is well-lit, has reduced background noise, and allows for clear visibility of facial cues to accommodate for hearing and visual impairments.

How can allowing processing time benefit people with learning disabilities?

Allowing processing time gives people with learning disabilities the space to understand and respond to information, preventing misinterpretations of their abilities.

What is the recommended speaking pace and style when communicating with people who have extended processing time?

Speaking in a slow and steady pace, emphasizing key words, and keeping language simple and short is beneficial.

Why is it important to use literal language instead of abstract or metaphoric language?

People with learning disabilities might take abstract or metaphoric language literally, leading to misunderstandings, so using literal language helps ensure clarity.

What is a total communication approach and why is it important?

A total communication approach involves considering all possible ways to communicate a message, such as writing, drawing, signing, or using physical objects, to promote understanding for the individual.

Outlines

00:00

🗣️ Communication Challenges and Accessibility

This paragraph discusses the concept of communication, particularly focusing on the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities. It highlights the potential difficulties in comprehension, processing, expressive language, and articulation. The paragraph emphasizes that these abilities are often misjudged, leading to either overestimation or underestimation of a person's communication skills. It also mentions the introduction of the Accessible Communication Standard in 2016, which mandates that health and social care services provide information in an accessible manner for those with learning disabilities, impairments, or sensory losses. The standard aims to improve service outcomes and experiences for individuals with learning disabilities and to ensure clear understanding of health-related matters. The paragraph concludes with various communication methods that can be employed by individuals with disabilities, such as Makaton sign language, objects of reference, pictorial resources, iPad apps, and interpreting body language and facial expressions.

05:02

👥 Enhancing Communication with Learning Disabilities

The second paragraph provides practical advice on how to communicate effectively with individuals who have learning disabilities. It suggests considering the environment by ensuring good lighting, reducing background noise, and maintaining an appropriate distance for non-verbal cues. The paragraph advises allowing processing time for individuals who may take longer to understand and respond to information. It also recommends speaking slowly and clearly, emphasizing key words, and using simple, everyday language to avoid medical jargon and context-specific terms that might be misunderstood. The paragraph concludes by advocating for a total communication approach, which involves using various methods such as writing, drawing, signing, and using physical objects to facilitate understanding.

Keywords

💡Communication

Communication refers to the exchange of information, ideas, or feelings between individuals. In the context of the video, it is emphasized that effective communication is crucial for people with learning disabilities to ensure they can understand and be understood. The script discusses various barriers to communication, such as comprehension difficulties, expressive language challenges, and articulation issues, and how these can lead to misunderstandings or communication breakdowns.

💡Learning Disabilities

Learning disabilities are cognitive challenges that affect a person's ability to acquire and use knowledge effectively. The video script highlights how individuals with learning disabilities may struggle with different aspects of communication, such as understanding complex language or expressing themselves clearly. It also points out the importance of not underestimating or overestimating their abilities, which can impact their motivation to communicate.

💡Expressive Language

Expressive language pertains to a person's ability to articulate thoughts and ideas in speech or writing. The script mentions that people with learning disabilities might have difficulties with expressive language, which could manifest as challenges in forming sentences or choosing the right words to convey their thoughts, affecting their ability to communicate effectively.

💡Articulation

Articulation refers to the clear pronunciation of speech sounds. The video script discusses how articulation problems can lead to speech that is unintelligible or sounds slurred, which can hinder communication for individuals with learning disabilities. It emphasizes the need for communicators to be patient and considerate of these challenges.

💡Accessible Communication Standard

The Accessible Communication Standard is a government-introduced regulation that mandates health and social care services to provide information in a way that is easy for people with learning disabilities, impairments, or sensory losses to understand. The script highlights this standard as a means to improve service outcomes and experiences for individuals with learning disabilities, ensuring they are included and understood in health-related communications.

💡Makaton

Makaton is a language program that uses symbols and signs alongside speech to help people communicate. The script mentions Makaton as one of the communication methods that people with learning disabilities might use, emphasizing the importance of using various communication tools to facilitate understanding.

💡Objects of Reference

Objects of reference involve using physical objects to represent an idea or concept. The video script suggests using objects of reference as a way to aid communication for individuals with learning disabilities, as it provides a tangible way to express abstract ideas and can help in understanding complex concepts.

💡Pictorial Resources

Pictorial resources, such as photographs or symbols, are visual aids used to support communication. The script discusses how these resources can help individuals with learning disabilities to better understand and communicate information, as they provide a visual context that can be easier to process than verbal language.

💡Processing Time

Processing time refers to the duration it takes for an individual to understand and respond to information. The video script emphasizes the need to allow extra processing time for people with learning disabilities, as they may need longer to comprehend messages and formulate responses, which is crucial for effective communication.

💡Total Communication Approach

A total communication approach involves using all possible means to convey a message, such as verbal, written, visual, and physical methods. The script advocates for this approach when communicating with individuals with learning disabilities, suggesting that using multiple modes of communication can enhance understanding and ensure the message is effectively received.

💡Context-Specific Language

Context-specific language refers to words or phrases that have different meanings depending on the situation or setting. The video script warns against using context-specific language with individuals who have learning disabilities, as it can lead to confusion or misunderstandings. It gives the example of the word 'theater' in a hospital context versus a general understanding, highlighting the importance of clarity in communication.

Highlights

Communication is defined as the exchange of information using any means possible.

People with disabilities may have difficulty with comprehension, processing time, or expressive language.

Communicative abilities are often overestimated or underestimated.

Physical impairments might lead to assumptions about a person's comprehension abilities.

People who speak verbally might be overestimated if their comprehension is limited.

The Accessible Communication Standard was introduced in 2016 to ensure clear communication in health and social care services.

The standard aims to improve outcomes and experiences for people with learning disabilities.

Communication methods for people with disabilities include Makaton sign language and objects of reference.

Pictorial resources and iPad apps are used to aid communication.

Interpreting body language, gestures, and facial expressions is important.

Consider the environment for people with hearing and visual impairments.

Ensure the environment is well-lit and reduce background noise.

Allow processing time for people with learning disabilities.

Speak in a slow and steady pace, emphasizing key words.

Use simple and short language, avoiding medical jargon.

Be aware that words can be context-specific and have different meanings.

Avoid abstract phrases or metaphoric language; use literal language instead.

Adopt a total communication approach, using various methods to convey messages.

Have pen and paper available to write down or draw messages.

Transcripts

communication in its simplest definition

is the exchange of information from one

person to another are using any means

possible people have learned

disabilities will have difficulty with

some form of communication whether

that's a difficulty with comprehension

so that's their understanding of a word

or message whether it's their processing

time being more delayed or taking them

longer to remember and store what has

been said whether that's a difficulty

with their expressive language so that's

how somebody expresses themselves and

formulates a word or sentence or whether

that's a problem with their articulation

so they were thinking about the

individual speech sounds so somebody

might speak but it would be

unintelligible or sound slurred or

slightly disordered their communicative

abilities are often either overestimated

or underestimated and so an example

might be that somebody might have a

physical impairment so therefore their

speech is slightly slurred or disordered

and so somebody might assume that their

comprehensive ability is also impaired

so they might be underestimated

and alternatively somebody might speak

verbally and appear very able however

their comprehension might be limited so

therefore they might be overestimated

and both of these situations have a

negative consequence on somebody's

motivation to communicate with health

care professionals and can also cause

communication breakdown along the way so

in 2016 the government introduced the

accessible communication standard which

outlines that all health and social care

services should be providing information

in a way that's easy for people to

understand that have learning

disabilities impairments or sensory

losses and this should be followed by

law and it aims to make services have

better outcomes and experiences for

people learn disabilities and make sure

that everybody understands what's

involved in their health

and this applies to doctors pharmacies

hospitals social workers and anybody in

that field communication methods that

people with their disabilities might use

are Makaton sign language which is

signing whilst you speak objects of

reference which is using physical

objects to represent an idea or concept

using pictorial resources such as

photographs or symbols to help

communicate and understand also using

iPads there's lots of apps you can get

available now for communication and also

interactive devices and and also

interpreting things like body language

gesture and facial expression firstly I

would say to consider your environment

so people own disabilities are more

likely to have hearing and visual

impairments and so I guess it's making

sure that your environment is well-lit

that you've reduced background noise and

that you're sitting at an appropriate

distance for somebody to be able to see

your face clearly and read those extra

cues that you might give with your face

and if they have got a hearing or visual

impairment if they do have glasses or

hearing aids making sure that they're

clean and that they're turned on and

also regularly reviewed secondly

allowing some processing time so people

of learning disabilities may take longer

to process the information so it's about

making sure that you're giving that

space for somebody to process the

information but also to respond and so

ensuring that if somebody hasn't

responded

you're not straightaway repeating the

message you're allowing that time and

not assuming that they haven't heard you

or misunderstood you but they might

actually still be processing what you

said

Janee so for people with learning

disabilities with that extended

processing time it's going to take them

longer to register your message so

speaking in a slow and steady pace and

emphasizing the key words in the

center's will be really beneficial keep

your language simple and short so when

you're speaking and sense of things

making sure that they're concise and

very clear your choice of language

should be everyday words as opposed to

medical jargon or terminology an

important thing to consider is that

words can be context specific as well so

something that you might use everyday in

the hospital might have a different

meaning for somebody with a learning

disability that hasn't applied it to a

different context so an example could be

if he was saying we're about to go into

theater in a hospital that would mean

that you're going in for an operation

but for someone with an any disability

their understanding of the word later

might be going to see a Western show and

so it's very important to make sure

we're being very clear and direct with

the words that we're using

and considering the other meanings that

they might have for that person so often

we use abstract phrases or metaphoric

language in our speech and for example

the doctors doing his rounds or you've

been through the wars or tournament

terminology like that and for people

with learning disabilities they might

take that literally and so it's

important that we instead use literal

language instead of more abstract themes

lastly using a total communication

approach so thinking of all of the

different ways that you can communicate

that message to the person having a pen

and paper available writing it down

drawing it signing it getting the

physical object and showing somebody

really thinking outside the box of all

the different ways that we can promote

understanding for the individual