“Inclusive Communication”How can I effectively communicate when a person has a developmental

disability?

The Missouri Adult Protective Services ConferenceNovember 29, 2007

Goals of this session

At the conclusion of this session, you will—

be familiar with the basic model for communication which can be used in any communication situation

be able to use the basic communication model

be able to adapt your communication style to meet the needs of people with disability

My assumption

You know how to do your job—interview people; investigate; effectively communicate. This session is designed to give you some information and pointers which will enhance your repertoire of communication tools so you are able to work with a wider range of people.

Introduction

“How can I effectively communicate with a person with a developmental disability?”

Why are you asking this question? Why is effective communication important in

your work? What constitutes effective communication?

Key Principle #1:

People with disabilities are people first.

What is a developmental disability?

System perspective

Community/social perspective

Personal perspective

Definition Deficiency focus Program eligibility diagnostics

Attitudes & beliefs Roles Status contributions

My life as I live it Interests, gifts & talents Hopes and dreams Control of my life and

destiny

Federal definition from the Developmental Disability Act

Physical or mental impairments that begin before age 22, and alter or substantially inhibit a person’s capacity to do at least three of the following: take care of themselves speak and be clearly understood learn walk/ move around make decisions live on their own earn and manage an income

Examples of developmental disability

People with autism Folks with cerebral palsy Someone who has had a traumatic brain

injury A person with hearing impairment Other examples?

Caution!!

A disability is only one characteristic of the person (don’t let the disability be life defining

How a disability presents itself varies from person to person (don’t over generalize from the disability label

Distinguish the person with a disability from the impairment

Social Perspectives

Acceptance Roles & relationships

Friend Neighbor Co-worker Spouse Church member

Rejection Target for ridicule,

abuse, personal gain Recipient of charity &

pity Cause of fear/anxiety Isolation & segregation

Personal perspective

“We are people first!” We want

Opportunity Choice Competence Control A life

Key Principle #2:

Effective communication with someone who happens to have a disability begins with using effective communication strategies.

Elements of Communication

sendermessage receiver

Effective Communication Skills

Initiating Responding

Active Listening

Process

Initiating Skills

Starting communication (Proposing): Introduces a new idea, suggestion or proposal; is actionable

Adding on to an idea (Expanding) : Enlarges, extends or develops an existing proposal

Ways of Responding

Positive responses

Agreeing actively supports a person’s idea or suggestion

Disagreeing expresses a lack of support or agreement

Negative responses

Attacking attacks another person directly

Defending attempt to ward off an attack, whether real or perceived

Active Listening Skills

Giving information the sender provides facts, opinions or thoughts

Seeking information sender asks questions to clarify information or collect more information

Reflecting receiver seeks to identify the emotion of the sender on the basis of non-verbal information

Checking in receiver seeks to determine if an earlier communication has been perceived accurately

Summarizing receiver recounts in compact form previous communication

Process Skills

Bringing inSolicits participation from a person present, but not

verbally contributing

Shutting out

Excludes a person’s participation by seeking to stop their participation

The goal in effective communication is to achieve a balance across participants

Possible breakdowns in the communication process: the sender’s perspective

Physical “articulation”

Formulating the message (figuring out what to say)

Clearly expressing the message (conveying the info so receiver understands)

Possible breakdowns: the receiver’s perspective Literally “hearing” the message

Understanding the content of the message

Processing the message

Possible breakdowns: the message

Lack of a commonly understood vocabulary & syntax

Difficulty placing the message in context

Does the “medium” of the message work for both parties?

Key Principle #3:

Effective communication means tailoring your approach for each individual and the particular situation.

Tailoring the process

If the person has a physical disability

If the person has a vision impairment

If the person has a hearing disability

What about a speech disability?

If there is a cognitive disability

What if the person uses non-symbolic forms of communication?

Key Principle #4:

Everyone communicates!

Symbolic v. non-symbolic communication forms

Symbolic Abstract representations

of reality

Socially agreed upon vocabulary & syntax

Specificity

Non-symbolic More concrete

Pictures Gestures Body language

More individually defined vocabulary

More difficult to interpret

Key principle #5:

Improving our ability to communicate “inclusively” takes practice.

Some ideas which might help improve inclusive communication

1. Ask people you interview for feedback, e.g., is our interview going OK so far?

2. work with a partner so you can get feedback

3. use opportunities to improve your skills, rather than avoiding them

4. spend time with people with disabilities

5. get and use information

“Listen with an intensity that

most people save for talking.”