Selecting Vocabulary for Communication

Eina! Ouch! Eish! Professionals’ Perceptions of How Children with CerebralPalsy Communicate About Pain in South African School Settings: Implications forthe use of AAC

Johnson E  Nilsson S, Adolfsson M in Augment Altern Commun. 2015 Sep 15:1-11.

 This article outlines some interesting thoughts about how professionals in a school environment interpreted pain in the children they worked with. In the first instance the professionals used,

-       knowing the child well,

-       interpreting the child's body language and facial expression and

-       looking at  different levels of engagement in a known activity or interaction.

Interestingly to note, that many children did appear to accept situations that were painful. The researchers reflecting that, maybe the non verbals cues and behaviour changes had not previously been acknowledged. Consequently the children would stop trying o communicate nonverbally their pain.

The research does talk about how those children with access to symbols, other low tech communication devices, technology devices (VOCA)  and speech do use these systems, but the more informal communication including behaviours and nonverbal cues are as important in communication about pain. Mmm think about how you communicate pain?

The research also mentions reflecting on the language a typically developing child of the same age uses, so a younger child the word “ sore,” or  “ouch" might be used, but "pain" and “where is the pain?” was used with older children.

Irrespective of the age of a child, pain was rarely if ever interpreted according to a 1-10 or 1-5 pain scale. But then this was only available to children in one of the environments studied. The feedback from professionals being,  a pain scale "was too abstract". But how do you know, if it is not considered as a being available  or communicative need. Instead, staff based their interpretation of level of pain on knowing the child well and the informal communication.  

So how does this help us in communicating with children with little or no speech? How does this give us insight into the selection of vocabulary?

Pain and emotions have an abstract base and understanding. Always consider the nonverbal cues and behaviour changes a person is using. You may be able give this non verbal cue or behaviour change a label (or name). But the child is already communicating they are in pain or have a different or changed emotion (sad, frustrated etc). Therefore, accept what they are doing, and model the more formal language alongside it. If we don't accept what the child is doing with informal communication, behaviour and nonverbal cues, either they will do a more extreme version, or stop communicating this need.

Select vocabulary useful to the child’s needs, and model its use in context.  For example, 

-        a child screws up their face to refuse a particular drink, 

-       acknowledge the child is telling you they do not like the drink

and

-       model a more formal means of this same message, using your speech and also point to a symbol, (object, word, picture, or spell it out depending on the skills of the child and their AAC system) and use natural gesture/Key Word Sign.

Select vocabulary appropriate to the child’s age, and what typically developing children may use in that space. How do you do that?  Listen into some conversations!

Talk to me out vocabulary selection and developing communication boards for your child, or adult in your family or community.

Cathy Basterfield

Speech Pathologist

Access Easy English

Cathy@accesseasyenglish.com.au

www.accesseasyenglish.com.au

0466 579 855

Free resources for communication

When you need something, it always takes lots of time, access to images of what you want to represent and money to develop them.

Here is a solution. All you need to do is, color print them and laminate for durability.(Officeworks is great here!).  You can even personalise them.

There are a couple of ways to access free sequences for all sorts of activities at Home and School and Early childhood settings from toilet routines (boy or girl) to dressing and play time.

Then there are sequences you can have for less regular activities, such as Going to the Dentist or Getting a Hair Cut. You choose how much detail of the sequence is needed, as you cut and paste the images for your own needs.  


 Did you know there is a pilot scheme for having your own child's non electronic communication board/s developed. Check our Kids Chat

There is a similar scheme for adults which has been going for a number of years now. NECAS

I am happy to provide assessment and help you identity  your person's vocabulary and language needs with regard to supports for communication  and interaction.

Cathy

Cathy Basterfield

Speech Pathologist

Access Easy English

cathy@accesseasyenglish.com.au

www.accesseasyenglish.com.au

ph: 0466 579 855

Learning to read. What works?

In today's Sydney Morning Herald, Speech Pathologist, Alison Clarke, writes about the challenges for parents in wading through the plethora of marketing to determine the best approach to assist their child who struggles with their reading or who has a diagnosis of dyslexia.

Alison specialises in working with students in schools, who struggle to learn to read. In today's article she says, "The typical struggling beginner reader/speller has difficulties with sounding out words.... and perhaps 20 per cent of children find it very difficult.”

and 

“They must be explicitly taught .......to systematically work through the system by which our 44 speech sounds are represented by over 200 spellings of one, two, three or four letters, with many spellings representing more than one sound."

Read her article at Children with learning difficulties need programs based on science, not anecdote and neurobabble    

Read more about Alison at www.spelfabet.com.au There is a wealth of great commentary and resources on her website.

How does learning to read relate to Easy English?

Easy English is developed for the reader who needs information now, most often for adults with low functional or non-functional literacy skills, but also secondary school students who have missed the building blocks of literacy early on and are only now learning to read and understand basic written materials. Easy English modifies the written content of information you need to read now, to a level so that the adult or student can participate in their school or community.

I have seen students who struggle to read, given a matrix assessment task, time and again. They cannot identify what or how to complete the classroom based tasks (eg for geography). Consequently these students are seen as weak or poor students, or non complaint. Often it is because the matrix or assessment task has been written in such a way the student cannot read the complex language. The task becomes a reading task, rather than a knowledge based task on geology, climate or some other content of the subject. Poor self esteem, lack of confidence and non compliance follow. 

Easy English ensures everyday words are used in developed materials. It does not set out to teach someone to read, however, evidence has shown time and again, those people who do have the basic building blocks of literacy and spelling are more able to attempt the reading of the Easy English content. Consequently, someone who describes themselves as a "non-reader" actually does read more written material. We all know the more we practice a skill the better it gets. I have seen this time and again. Then self confidence and self esteem increase, and the person is more willing to try the next piece of written material.

win - win for everyone in this, our society, where literacy is so highly valued and is everywhere.

Cathy

Cathy Basterfield

Speech Pathologist

Access Easy English

cathy@accesseasyenglish.com.au

www.accesseasyenglish.com.au

ph: 0466 579 855