Interpreting the communication of people with profound and multiple learning difficulties

Abstract

Summary The present paper highlights some of the issues involved in interpreting the communication behaviours of people with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLDs). Both inference and intention can play an important role in the communication process, and this raises a number of difficulties and dangers where one of the communication partners is not in a position to correct misunderstandings. The present authors discuss the importance of validating communication and pose a number of key questions to ask those who are most significant in the life of a person with PMLDs. A case study is provided that illustrates a number of these issues.

Understanding distress in people with severe communication difficulties: developing and assessing the Disability Distress Assessment Tool (DisDAT)

“…Professionals already find it difficult to estimate the communication ability of a person with an ID (Porter et al . 2001; Banat et al .…”

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“…Pupils did not have to give a response (Porter et al . ), but were given space and time to respond. The researcher repeated the pupil's response after she/he had given it to confirm the answer.…”

Describing dialogue between persons with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities and direct support staff using the scale for dialogical meaning making

“…This use of unconventional communicative behaviour, leading to ambiguity of meaning, poses a real challenge to understanding the needs, thoughts and feelings of persons with PIMD and to develop shared understanding with them (Grove et al . 1999; Porter et al . 2001).…”