Welcome to the Direct Care Worker Network’s First Newsletter. We hope for this to be a weekly post filled with useful and relevant information for direct care workers and front line supervisors.
This week’s theme is COMMUNICATION.
The NADSP defines Communication as:
“The Direct Support Professional should be knowledgeable about the range of effective communication strategies and skills necessary to establish a collaborative relationship with the participant.”
Human beings use communication to share our thoughts, ideas, feelings, observations and knowledge. People with disabilities have the same needs to communicate- they might have limited abilities to use voices or hear spoken language and words. Modern technology has virtually eliminated the need for an actual voice.
Feature: Question of the Week—Gene from New York asks:
Hello from New York! I have a question about communicating with co workers who speak a different language. Several people I work with are from African nations and speak several different languages. They have difficulty speaking English but it seems like they understand English. How can I help these co workers feel more welcome and share important information with them? More importantly how can I be sure they understand my requests for help, or for info?
Answer:
Thanks Gene for your question. You bring up a timely and super important question. I really like how you are approaching this situation as well- in the effort to help people feel welcome. This tells me some of the folks you are struggling to understand are recently hired by your agency. One of the responsibilities of your management team to ensure all employees understand treatment plans, Service Agreements, documentation logs and so forth. During the hiring process the new employees must have passed some sort of screening process that proved to management that they have the basic competencies of reading and writing English. Normally it should not be up to the DSP to figure out how to communicate with co workers. I would recommend you speak with management to discuss expectations they have on you and peers to help new hires learn to work for your agency. Is there an expectation that you not only assist with training on client programs and protocols, but also to help them navigate the English language as well?
In this situation though, it is important and vital that the new hires have basic speaking skills and ability to recognize dangerous situations and get help. One thing you could do, or better yet is ask your manager to do is set up a binder with pictures of situations and practice the proper spoken phrases, For example, a picture of FIRE would have an associated word, “FIRE” next to it, and maybe even a picture of a fire alarm pull station and photo of someone on a phone calling 911.
Other job aids could be pictures of a properly made bed; a safe way to don a gait belt onto a client; another good one is a photo of a dinner plate with the proper amount of food. The idea is to give them a picture of a task or an idea or a process, and have them use the right English Words/Phrases to use. It takes time for people to really learn and understand a different language. You should not expect people to understand things overnight. Your best way to help people would be to be patient, allow for practice and even set up practice sessions. It’s a lot of work but well worth it. Time spent teaching people new skills, including speaking English is a daunting task. Your small contributions are very much appreciated.
Peer-to-Peer Communicating for DSP’s
Many times, when a DSP is upset or angry they try not to communicate; they ignore others or pretend they can’t hear others speaking. But not communicating is not an option. In fact the more we try not to communicate, the more we do! By not ignoring others or playing deaf, we are communicating something: perhaps that we are shy, perhaps that we are angry or sulking, perhaps that we are too busy. Ignoring others is communicating with them, we might not tell them we’re ignoring them but through non-verbal communication we hope to make that apparent.
Uses of Interpersonal Communication
Interpersonal communication is a key life skill and a key work skill for DSPs- and can be used to:
• Give and collect information.
• Influence the attitudes and behavior of others.
• Form contacts and maintain relationships.
• Make sense of the world and our experiences in it.
• Express personal needs and understand the needs of others.
• Give and receive emotional support.
• Make decisions and solve problems.
• Anticipate and predict behavior.
• Regulate power.
Here are some strategies for DSP’s to use when communicating with peers and FLS:
- Watch your body language. Don’t yawn, roll eyes, fold arms in front of yourself; DO sit up straight, pay positive attention, take notes if needed. Smile.
- Maintain Personal Distance: Personal distance is considered to be the most appropriate for people holding a conversation. At this distance it is easy to see the other person’s expressions and eye movements, as well as their overall body language. Sitting together on a bench, or couch is a good example. The use of a desk or table between people is okay for FLS/DSP relationships. Peer-to-peer should be barrier free settings.
- Allow the other person to speak, without interrupting them. Not only is interrupting rude, it shows the other person you don’t want to or need to hear what they have to say. It defies the meaning and purpose of effective communication. Avoid distractions such a ringing phones and email alerts.
- Listen well. Use listening skills such as maintaining eye contact, smiling, focusing on what is being said, reserving judgement, and if needed, taking brief notes on key points.
- Explore details. Ask relevant questions and that help to clarify what the speaker has said. By asking relevant questions the listener also helps to reinforce that they have an interest in what the speaker has been saying.
- Summarize: Repeating a summary of what has been said back to the peer validates what has been stated; it also shows that you have an understanding or not of the issue. Summarizing involves taking the main points of the received message and reiterating them in a logical and clear way, giving the speaker chance to correct if necessary. Many times the person will correct certain ideas or concerns. Come to Agreement and Set Next Steps: Coming to an agreement is a skill, is the end result of good communication. Setting next steps requires attentive communication and follow up, as outlined below.
- Follow up: This is often the most missed step in any communication process. For DSP’s it is very important to follow up on conversations, especially those that may involve assigned tasks to complete. If you met with your FLS for example and she charged you with meeting a goal, it is important that you take steps to ensure you can meet and complete that goal. Following up with expectations and deadlines is always a good idea. Following up by checking in with a peer about the relationship or concern is probably the single most important task one can do.
Here are some strategies for DSP’s to use when communicating with people who have disabilities:
- Always speak to the person directly. Never ask the person’s caregiver, or other a companion or sign language interpreter. If the individual speaks another language you do not know, it is okay to ask an attending interpreter to speak to the person.
- Identify yourself. “Hi, my name is Patti and it’s nice to meet you!” said, with a smile and outreached hands is the normal greeting we all use for people without disabilities. We can and should use this for ALL PEOPLE.
- If the person is sitting, crouch down to meet their eye level.
- Don’t presume the person is hard of hearing. Don’t shout or speak loudly. Use your normal tone. If the person is hard of hearing they will let you know.
- Listen attentively when talking with people who have difficulty speaking and wait for them to finish. If necessary, ask short questions that require short answers, or a nod of the head. Never pretend to understand; instead repeat what you have understood and allow the person to respond. Take your time, don’t rush communication.
- Check with the person that you understand what they are saying e.g. “the TV isn’t working? Is that right?”
- If the person wants to take you to show you something, go with them.
- Consider yourself and how often you communicate your needs and wants through any given day. Think about all the things you do without thinking about it: Getting up in the morning, deciding to shower, what clothing to wear, what food to eat for breakfast and so on. Offer your disabled people you care for the same opportunities for communicating needs and wants.
- If the person has Speech Devices, learn how to use them. Become an expert with the use of, care of and accessing repairing of the device. Consider the device to be the person’s voice because it really is. If the person has a schedule system with built in opportunities for communicating choices, use it daily. Involve the person in setting up any daily schedules, and offer as many choices as possible.
- Many clients are taking advantage of apps on I Pads and cell phones. Communication apps, schedule apps, and choice apps are very popular, easy to learn and effective ways for people to communicate. Much more realistic that older models of Dinavox and other devices, you can ask for a SLP assessment of your clients ability to use an I Pad. Of all the tech out there, we are finding that most disabled people can use these devices much easier than we thought they could.
Here’s some ideas for encouraging clients to communicate with peers and others during the routine day to day time frames:
- Ask clients to make choices for condiments on meals
- Ask clients to decide and share when they want to eat meals, snacks
- Get clients involved in conversations that have meaning to them. Younger clients might really enjoy talking about modern music, bands and pop stars. Older clients might prefer to talk about recent political events, international news and sport teams. People of all ages enjoy selecting meals for a menu, selecting activities the **house** can all take part in, and in deciding who their staff will be on nay given day/shift.
That’s all for this week’s newsletter. Let us know if there are subjects you would like for us to address and research in the newsletter.
