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

1. “Inclusive Communication”How can I effectively communicate when a person has a developmental disability? The Missouri Adult Protective Services Conference November 29, 2007

2. 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

3. 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.

4. 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?

5. Key Principle #1: People with disabilities are people first.

6. 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 What is a developmental disability?

7. 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

8. 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?

9. 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

10. 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 Social Perspectives

11. Personal perspective • “We are people first!” • We want • Opportunity • Choice • Competence • Control • A life

12. Key Principle #2: Effective communication with someone who happens to have a disability begins with using effective communication strategies.

13. Elements of Communication sender receiver message

14. Effective Communication Skills Active Listening Initiating Responding Process

15. 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 Initiating Skills

16. 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 Ways of Responding

17. 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 Active Listening Skills

18. Bringing in Solicits 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 Process Skills

19. 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)

20. Possible breakdowns: the receiver’s perspective • Literally “hearing” the message • Understanding the content of the message • Processing the message

21. 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?

22. Key Principle #3: Effective communication means tailoring your approach for each individual and the particular situation.

23. 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?

24. Key Principle #4: Everyone communicates!

25. 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 Symbolic v. non-symbolic communication forms

26. Key principle #5: Improving our ability to communicate “inclusively” takes practice.

27. Some ideas which might help improve inclusive communication • Ask people you interview for feedback, e.g., is our interview going OK so far? • work with a partner so you can get feedback • use opportunities to improve your skills, rather than avoiding them • spend time with people with disabilities • get and use information

28. “Listen with an intensity that most people save for talking.”