Communication level 3
The range of communication requirements in my job role
There are many people who we communicate with as part of our job role, how we communicate can vary extremely and a wide range of communication skills are required. i The groups of individuals I communicate with are; * The young people I support. * The staff group, support workers, school staff, cleaner. * Management and other professions such as social workers, GPs and local authorities. * Parents and families of the young people.
Support workers, cleaners, school staff
Parents and families
Social workers and local authorities
Doctors/ Dentists/ nurses and other professionals
Methods of communication
* Verbal language and use of the telephone. * Makaton or sign language. * Body language, posture, facial expressions, gestures. * Picture exchange symbols. * Written.
Ty Orbis ensures that communication is not confined to spoken language and input is required in the form of therapies, teaching, parents, professionals and support staff. It also ensures that communication is at the centre of curricular learning and that any IEPs will take this in to consideration as their focus and priority as stated in the communication policy.
Communicating with the young people
Each young person is assessed by the speech and language therapist and their learning will become a developmental process which will continue throughout their time in the service.
Ty Orbis aim to enable our young people to communicate not only with staff, parents and each other but also in the wider community, as this can build on their social awareness and acceptance of new situations.
There are ways in which we teach our children to communicate and enable them to progress and succeed to the best of their ability. To understand each individual and their needs, we first need to evaluate ourselves and how effective we are at communicating with them, and provide structural education which suits the individuals needs to teach a system which works best for them.
The communication problems of autism vary, depending upon the individual. Some may have no verbal communication, whereas others may have the ability to talk in depth about things.
The practise of how we communicate is evaluated and training is provided in the systems we use, as the young people are regularly assessed it is easier to identify any progression made and enable them to move on to the next stage. Observations are also made on a daily basis to ensure consistency and effective working.
When working through the Picture Exchange system phases, the way of teaching the symbol is to exchange the wanted item with the symbol they have asked for, usually done with a preferred item such as food. When the individual can differentiate between pictures the next step can be implemented.
Communicating with staff
Effective communication between staff is essential for us to provide a consistent approach in delivering a high standard of care and support.
How we communicate as a staff group * Message book – this is checked by all staff when they arrive for shift * E mail – each staff member has their own e mail address * Memo file – any information is to be placed in memo file and read by staff daily. * Written memos – any priority memos will be placed on both the office and staff room walls. * Handover – completed by all staff to pass over to next shift. * Supervisions – 1-1 or group, every 4 weeks * Team meetings – once a month
Communicating with GP’s, Social workers and other professionals
It is vital that information is passed over if a young person has been to see their GP or had a visit from the social worker. We must ensure that information is shared but also that confidentiality remains paramount.
All information will be logged in the individual’s case file and