The Importance of Communication Partnerships: A Study to Investigate the Communicative Exchanges Between Staff and Adults with Learning Disabilities

Abstract

A small-scale study was conducted to investigate the extent to which the verbal communication skills used by adults with learning disabilities were complemented by those used by their keyworkers during communicative exchanges. The setting was a community-based day centre. The number of information carrying words (ICWs) used by keyworkers with their clients was measured in two contexts: (A) looking at selected pictures; (B) free conversational exchange. These were compared with the verbal comprehension level of each client, also measured in ICWs, as assessed by the administration of the Derbyshire Language Scheme: Rapid Screening Test of Comprehension (Knowles & Masidlover, 1982). The results revealed that major differences existed between the communication skills used by keyworkers, and the comprehension levels of the participants with learning disabilities under both conditions. The greater mismatch was evident in the second condition of 'free conversational exchange'. Some limitations of the current study are discussed together with the implications for future investigations and intervention.

A model of processes that underpin positive relationships for adults with severe intellectual disability

“…Training workers to adjust their message has been a focus of improving interactions, but often without success (Bartlett & Bunning, 1997;Purcell, Morris, & McConkey, 1999). Affi nity members recognised the need to adjust their communication style in the Downloaded by [Ohio University Libraries] at 12:50 14 October 2014 absence of prior training, perhaps because developing respect for and enjoying social interactions with a person with severe intellectual disability sensitised them to the interaction skills required.…”

Disability support workers’ experience of interaction with a person with profound intellectual disability

“…Despite frequent recommendations for the training of DSWs in communication with people with PID or less severe forms of ID (e.g., Bartlett & Bunning, 1997;Bloomberg, West, & Iacono, 2003), such training has not been accompanied by descriptions of what would constitute best practice. As a result, there is a lack of evidence to indicate the skills that would most assist DSWs in enhancing their communicative interactions with people with PID (Hatton et al, 2004).…”

Complexity of staff communication and reported level of understanding skills in adults with intellectual disability

“…van der Gaag (1998) stressed the need for services to provide support tailored to individual communication skills. Staff need to recognize the individual’s communication abilities and make the necessary adaptations to their communicative acts (Bartlett & Bunning 1997), including those relating to the purpose and context (Purcell et al 2000). Communication mismatches can be discussed in terms of mode and complexity, and are influenced by staff perceptions of their own and service user’s communication (Purcell et al 1999).…”