Promoting Communication in Health

1.1 Communication is a tool with which we exercise our influence on others, bring out changes in others’ and our attitudes and motivate the people around us and to make and maintain relationships with them. Communication makes a major part of our life and is a social activity. This social activity is pursued verbally through speech, reading and writing or non-verbally through body language. Communication affects in work setting – we need communication at work, it is very important for: * The development of staff and children

* To discuss and plan ways to meet the Childs/ parents/ carers needs * Build strong relationships with children/ parents and carers 2.2 Factors to consider:

Key feature Description
Talking voice normal – pitch/tone of our voicebe careful of who you are talking to – they might not like certain things You can talk by whispering, shouting, phoning and by talking fast and slow to clarify what they are saying Listening Eye contact and nodding shows your listening and if you ask questions and recall what they say Eye contact Keep eye contact but not to stare as that can be intimidating, the stronger the eye contacts the closer the people are, people with higher class have longer gazing patterns. We hold eye contact longer with the people we like, eye contact can show: behavior, sincerity and empathy to young children, people who are more emotional need more eye contact Body language Body language can be positive or negative depending how you initiate things. Body language when open s more approaching for children Facial expressions Smiling and looking interested is much more positive for people approaching you and having a good convocation. Facial expressions show people how you react – if you like what they are saying or if your not Describing Describing in more detail is better then one worded answers – it keeps the convocation flowing. Personal space Make sure you don’t over step the boundary – come close to a person you are talking to , personal space is a must for positive attitude

3.1 Barriers to:
* Culture and family background – affects the way people use communication for example eye contact may not be used as much in some cultures, in the Inuit culture, to say no, they wrinkle their nose. * Family background – The way children grow up have a huge impact on their communication e.g. swearing, different languages, loudness and quietness. * Personality – personality affects communication by their self esteem – the children being shy or outgoing. * Confidence and self esteem – affects communication when a child or adult has emotionally put down by incorrectly doing something as from a child has been emotionally built up to do more. 3.2/3.3 communication barriers

Difficulty How it can affect communication How I will overcome this difficulty Different language May not understand what could be said and could get frustrated by not having the patience to listen. Have a day to celebrate the language, teach them words by cards, speaking in a soft voice while breaking it down and slowing down when talking. Let them talk to friends in their own language Blind Can’t see how you talk and may not understand sometimes as can’t see facial expressions Use sounds, use brail to help, don’t rearrange the furniture – they get confused and do not like it and ask if they want help don’t assume they do want help Deaf May get upset and frustrated because the can’t hear you talk may not be able to understand Lip read, keyboard machine, cards, signs/symbols and sign language Sensitive hearing Gets upset if it’s too loud and can not understand or concentrate if its to noisy – they can have painful ears and can cause disrupted conversation.

Talk quieter, respect other peoples quietness and get some thicker carpet to insulate the noise Speech delay/ stammers Repeats words, finds it hard to communicate and gets frustrated Make eye contact before speaking, ask questions, don’t interrupt be patient let them speak and repeat what they say Emotional – shy/ low self esteem Play and stay on their own may not communicate and wont bond or make friends with others Include them in small group activities and 1-1 speak clearly and slowly to them and smile Brain damaged Can’t communicate well and can get angry and confused Make sure they are comfortable so they can understand through pictures and makaton while you speak slowly and clearly Background Parents may have blindness and deafness, speech problems – not communicate very well can be alone and parents may be to busy to talk to them Talk to them on 1-1 and do 1-1 activities encourage them by using puppets cards and role play 3.4 clarifying misunderstandings – misunderstandings can happen very easily because there are many factors that may affect communication. A misunderstanding can be picked up on people’s reactions and are best to be clarified quickly before it escalates.

* Delivery of communication – can become misunderstanding by how we say the words or how we write them e.g. giving feedback at the end of the day in an upset/disappointed tone of voice the parent/carer may not believe you. * Changing method of communication – can become a misunderstanding when we write instead of talking face to face the other person misinterpret what is implied. * Checking understanding – It’s important to check the recipient understands what you are saying e.g. asking if they understand, saying back what they said. * Simple language – using simple language to children/parents or carers who speak English as their second language and to explain what things mean e.g. EYFS * Visual aids – we use visual aids to help explain what we mean for people to understand better e.g. pointing to something or makaton. * Apology – it’s important for us to apologize for when we have used inappropriate tone of voice or have insignificant time to talk. 3.5 Accessing extra support

* Translation and interpreting services – We use this service for communication to talk with others who have English as their second language, who are hearing impaired or people with learning difficulties. Where we can find these services:

1. Quick lingo [email protected] +44(0) 208 769 1730
2. Eclipse Translations Limited We serve Doncaster Tel: 0800 3765003 .Translators & Interpreters 3. Rotherham Interpretation & Translation Services 26, Domine Lane, Rotherham , S60 1QA 11.4 miles SW Tel: 01709 720778 .Translators & Interpreters * Speech and language services – we use this service for communication with children to help their speech, they provide suggestions and information how to use resources such as picture exchange communication system (PECS) and makaton.

Where we can find these services:
1. The Sound Learning Centre Limited 12 The Rise, London, N13 5LE. UK Telephone: +44 (0)20 8882 1060; Fax: +44 (0)20 8882 1040 * Advocacy services – we use this service to help children who are in local authority care or children with communication difficulties to ensure they are consulted about their matters.

Where we can find these services:
1. MENCAP Caron Lane 38 Lysways Street, Walsall. WS1 3AQ Opening Hours Mon-Fri 9am-5pm tel: 01922 614299 / Helpline 0808 808 1111 email: [email protected]
website: www.mencap.org.uk

2. Contact CAS
3. Child Advocacy Services Hammond Regional Office 1504 West Church Street Hammond, LA 70401 Phone: 985-902-9583 Toll Free: 800-798-1575 Fax: 985-345-4689 www.childadv.net 4.1 Confidentiality means to keep any children’s details/names/anything to do with the children/parent or carers privet from any person outside the setting to keep not only the family/child/parent or carer safe but the staff as well. If children say something in confidence but may course concern then we must share this information to the manager however we tell the child we have to tell someone to keep them safe. 4.3 Case study:

Erdems mother wants to invite another mother to a party but cannot find her telephone number, she asks Janice the nursery assistant whether she can pop into the office to get it for her. Janice can see it is a genuine request. What should Janice do?

Janice should say “I’m sorry but that information is confidential I can suggest you try to meet each other outside the setting or if you bring a letter in we can give it to her for you if you would like” If confidentially is not upheld the child/family/parent or carer can be at risk from danger or harm we also break the law if the policy is not upheld. CYP 3.5 develop positive relationships with children, young people and others involved in their care 2.1 Positive relationships with children are important to build a bond and to help them to develop and to help the staff work with them, making them feel comfortable to be able to separate from parent/carer, the children are more likely to join in with activities, behaviour will be more positive rather than having unwanted behaviour, communication develops rapidly when children are feel they are confident enough to talk to you, planning for staff becomes more accurate as you know what the child likes and dislikes, the staff can talk to the children more effectively as they can recognize their expressions and emotions.

We build and maintain relationships by keeping confidentially as needed, seeing how we affect others by what we say, keeping promises and sticking to commitments, value, respect, consistent and fair, identifying and sorting conflicts and disagreements, showing communication basics e.g. listening responding, recognizing and responding appropriately.

* Communicating effectively – we can communicate effectively with children changing the language depending on the child’s development, age and understanding. * Identifying and sorting out conflicts – it’s important for us to intervene in play when disagreements and conflicts start as this will help them to understand why we do things and to help their development for the future. * Being consistent and fair – its important having consistency in the setting for the children to build trust and to maintain routine, it’s also important for the staff to be fair to listen to all the children effectively.

* Showing respect and courtesy – it’s important to do this for to the children for them to develop manners and to treat the friends with manners and respect.

* Valuing and respecting individuality – it’s important for staff to respect and value individuality as we are all different, learn different ways, like different things, act in different ways. We are all unique!

2.1 Why positive relationships are important with people involved in care settings – it’s important to have this as in any work you need to work as a team and communicate otherwise there will be tension and the place will not feel nice to work there is also a chance of the children copying.

People who may be involved in the care of a child or young person Organisational managers and supervisors
Colleagues
Official visitors
Parents/carers
Other visitors
Colleagues from other agencies and services
External partners
When strong relationships are not built there is a risk that information can be passed incorrectly or withheld because the parent may feel they are not able to trust us.

Benefits to positive relationships
Skills and ideas can be shared
Children’s welfare can be properly monitored
Plans for children’s care and education are more effective Children’s needs and interests are identified
Information can be shared quickly between adults

Children are given consistent care

EYMP 5 – support children’s speech, language and communication 1.1
* Speech – Is vocalised language we learn from birth, with it vocal there are not written symbols or signed but a herd language. * Language – Is very special it can be signed, written, spoke, or symbols between people. This can be very difficult for a child to learn. * Communication – Is about the way in which people communicate to each other this again can be written, signed, symbols but mostly spoke this can include body language and facial expression. * Speech, language and communication needs – Is used to refer to difficulties in any of these three areas for a child as some children’s needs are different to others. 1.2

* Learning – whether we show a child or demonstrate to a child this is a form of learning to a child e.g. a child might see a stone fall into a puddle and hear a splash and is told it splashed because it sunk to the bottom , later that day if the child see’s another one the child might point and say to an adult “splash, it has sunk.” * Emotional – Can be very difficult for children to learn as they find it difficult to talk through how they feel so they show it through different ways however if we name an emotion it helps with communication. * Behaviour – This can be affected by when a child does not understand how to control their behaviour however when language can be used and understood the child’s behaviour will change. * Social – This effects nearly all areas of development as children use speech often in play and socialize this builds on emotions and behaviour to act appropriately.

1.3 Communication difficulties can affect overall development by short-term effects : * Finding it hard to make themselves understood
* Frustration
* Anger
* Withdrawal
* Low levels of confidence
* Difficulties in making friends
* Difficulties in learning new information and applying them * Find it hard to make themselves understood
Children’s self esteem and confidence can be damaged or put down by communication difficulties and development will be delayed. 2.3 Pre-linguistic development
Stage Age Features Comments
Cooing 6 weeks Cooing Babies make cooing sounds to show pleasure. These early sounds are different from sounds made later on mainly because the mouth is still developing. expansion) 6-9 months Babies blend vowels and consonants together to make tuneful sounds e.g. ba, ma, da Babbling has been described as learning the tune before the words. The baby seems to be practising its sounds. Babies increase the number of sounds or phonemes. This sometimes called phonemic expansion. All babies, even deaf babies produce a wide range of sounds during this period. Babbling (phonemic contraction) 9-10 months11-12 months (echolalia) Babies babble but the range of sounds are limited The range of sounds or phonemes that babies produce becomes more limited and reflects the phonemes used in the language that they are hearing. At this stage, it would in theory be possible to distinguish between babies who are in different language environments. At 10 months babies communication skills have also developed further. They now know how to attract adult’s attention by pointing and raising their voices. They can also understand a lot of what is being said to them through word recognition, but also by reading faces.

Linguistic stage
Stage Age Features Comments
First words Around 12 months Babies repeatedly use one or more sounds which have meaning for them The first words are often unclear and so gradually emerge. They are often one sound, but are used regularly in similar situations for example ‘baga’ to mean drink and cuddle. Babbling still continues. Holophrases 12-18 months Toddlers start to use one word in a variety of ways Toddlers use Holophrases to make limited vocabulary more useful for them. One word is used in several situations, but the tone of voice and the context helps the adult understand what the toddler means. Most toddlers have at least 10 words by 18 months. By this time toddlers have often learnt how to get adults attention and make them laugh. Two-word utterances – telegraphic speech 18-24 months Two words are put together to make a mini sentence Toddlers begin to combine words to make sentences. They seem to have grasped which are the key words in a sentence – “dada gone” or “dada come” Language explosion 24-36 months A large increase in children’s vocabulary combined with increasing use of sentences This is a period in which children’s language seems to evolve rapidly.

Children learn words so rapidly that it becomes hard for parents to count them! At the same time the child uses complicated structures in their speech. Plurals and negatives begin to be used, e.g. ‘no dogs here!” 3-4 years Sentences become longer and vocabulary continues to increase Children are using language in a more complete way. Mistakes in grammar show that they are still absorbing the rules and sometimes misapplying them! Mistakes such as “ I wanted” show that they have learnt that ‘ed’ makes a past tense. These types of mistakes are known as ‘virtuous errors’. By this time, children are able to use their communication skills in order to socialise with other in simple ways. They may, for example, repeat a question if they think they have not been understood. Fluency 4-6 years Masters the basic skills of the language Children have mastered the basics rules of English grammar and are fluent although, although will still be making some ‘virtuous errors’ Speech maturity 6-8 years Mastered the reproduction of most sounds During this period, children’s speech becomes clearer as their tongue, teeth and jaw develop. Children begin to use language to get their point of view across to others, although some do this by simply raising their voice!