Communication and Professional Relationships with Children, Young People and Adults

301, communication and professional relationships with children, young people and adults

1, Understand the principals of developing positive relationships with children, young people and adults. Communication is very important between people of different ages and abilities. It enables people build relationships with others at their own level of communication, it is important to be able to communicate at different levels and different methods of communication to enable the child, young person and adult to develop good communication skills and be able to hold conversations with others. Communication helps everybody to develop confidence and self esteem and to help the person forget they have a communication difficulty as every one will be able to communicate at appropriate levels. The main principals of relationship building, is to enable the person to be comfortable in the method and level of communication that they are at, this will give the person confidence to talk to others they are less familiar with and be able to get the correct message across to others. Social communication can be very difficult for some people with communication difficulties, this will happen when they are expected to ask strangers for items in a shopping situation, also if they are talking amongst friends they may find it difficult if they are in a busy crowed place as they may feel self conscious of those around picking up on the communication difficulty. In a profession situation the person may find it hard to find the words they need to either ask or respond to questions, sometimes people can close down their communication in tough situations, this can sometimes be through nerves, or the not wanting to show themselves up to the fact they have a communication difficulty, also some people who suffer with a stammer, may change difficult words to easier ones for them but they may not be understood in the correct context. Cultural differences may occur when the first language of the person is different from others, this can also cause some of the spoken words to sound different due to the accent of the person, all these can have an impact on relationships in different ways, people my become withdrawn and not want to speak to people, others may only respond when spoken to and not initiate the communication themselves.

2, Understand how to communicate with children, young people and adults. Within the classroom setting there are a variety of communication levels and abilities. These are addressed with the individual person. One to one work on communication is part of the daily routine. One to one sessions are designed to enable the individual to develop their communication skills at their own level, whether it is real objects, PECS, Makaton or speech. The communicator has to be able to adapt their level of communication to the individual child, they also need to be able to listen to and correct poor speech by “modeling” (repeat a word or sentence with correct pronunciation of words and correct sequencing of wording) they also need to have the time to spend with the child to enable the child to communicate at their own comfortable speed. Communication changes as the child grows older, although this isn’t necessary the case with children with special needs. As the child ages, their level of communication should improve from one word understanding to two word and so on until they can hold a full conversation. As the child grows the words they can develop and understand can become more complex, i.e. start with “cat, hat dog” and develop to “ good morning, transport” . The following communication disorders can cause their own communication difficulties * Language: the inability to pronounce words correctly * Sensory impairment: the inability to see written or pictures, or the inability to hear clearly or at all, and not be able to hear the correct pronunciation of the word or know the meaning of the word * Speech, language or communication impairment: the inability to speak clearly or have the correct words to speak * Cognitive abilities: the ability to retain information, memory is limited, attention skills are limited * Emotional state: shyness, embarrassment with level of communication and or speech defects. * Cultural differences: language barriers, accents, an understanding of English if their first language is different. All the above will have an impact on how the child learns to communicate effectively and all these factors are taken into account when communication with different children presenting some or all of the above.

3, Understand legislation, policies and procedures for confidentiality and sharing information, including data protection. Legislation and procedures for confidentiality, data protection and the disclosure of information are put in place to safe guard the children, young people and adults from harm which may occur if sensitive information it to get out to be public knowledge. They are all set out in protection acts endorsed by the government to ensure all information is kept safe and secure and only the relevant people who need to know the information know it, they are also bound by the law to ensure they don’t pass the information on to people out of the school system It is important to explain to the child when dealing with a sensitive issue about the importance of what they are telling you and what you will have to by law, do with the information. You must explain who you can share the information with i.e. head teacher, child protection officer, and possibly police and medical staff and social worker. You must also state who you cannot share the information with i.e. parents/guardians, friends, non-involved school staff. By reassuring the child of these facts they may or may not continue with the discloser of information. Protocols can only be breached when the case is of a very serious issue, i.e. child abuse, neglect of the child in any way. If a child has been reported missing due to an issue already being addressed within the protocols. Also if nothing seems to be being done to help and /or prevent the issue continuing after it has been reported in school, if requested and permission granted by school CP officer and the head teacher. School have followed procedures with outside agencies.