Bereavement counsellors etc will recommend self help books to service users. Tutors, teachers and lecturers will give a recommended reading list. They are all using the method of communication through text.
Oral & visual
To communication with either spoken word or visual displays.
When we go to the doctors, dentist or hospital we usually communicate orally. We have gone to any one of these for a specific reason but once there we need to communicate with them. Carers who work in the community or in nursing homes communicate on a daily basis with service users and residents. It might be simply to ask how they’ve been since they last saw them or ask them what if anything would they like to eat or drink. It is all usually oral communication. Even if any of the service users or residents is deaf we need to speak to them in a clear voice so that they can lip read it is still using oral communication.
All of the above also communicate with us with the use visual aids. It is usually in the form of posters and leaflets. Doctor’s surgeries usually have posters displaying various health issues like breast cancer, cervical cancer and testicular cancer and the importance of regular checks. Dentist will display posters of gum disease and tooth decay. In a doctors consulting room there is usually a resin model of an internal organ on display somewhere. Nurses consulting rooms especially midwifery one usually have a resin model of a baby in the womb or posters displaying the different stages in the pregnancy of the baby’s growth and development.
Touch
Touch is a way to communicate non-verbally.
I know as a care worker myself I have used this method. I have also had it used on me. However when you use this method you have to be aware of boundaries and personal space. You also need to be aware that it is not done in a patronising way. I personally felt that when I was in labour with my second child and didn’t want pain relief the doctor was patronising in the way in which he spoke and the manor in which he touched me. He patted me on the leg and said now there don’t be silly it’s not going to be easy. When I used it my self it was to put my arm around the shoulder of a service user who was upset. I had known the lady for some time and felt both of us were comfortable with it, when she placed her hand on my knee and said thank you I knew I had done the right thing.
When you go to the doctors they often have to touch you in order to make a diagnosis. For example if you have a cough they will listen to your chest. Carers giving personal care to service users, having dental check ups or even a routine smear test they all involve touch.
Whatever the need or reason for touch communication using this method is quite often personal. Boundaries, personal space what is and isn’t appropriate all needs to be taken into consideration.
Arts & crafts
Communicating through the use of drawing, painting or sculpture etc.
Arts and crafts to communicate are quite often used in rehabilitation units for people who have had a stroke or have other brain injuries. It is also used with children and adults with disabilities as a way for them to express themselves. It can be used in a variety of settings as communication. For example in one of our other units we were given a blank piece of card and some felt pens. We were asked to fold the card in half, write our name on the front then draw a scene/picture that best described us underneath our name. We were then asked to communicate with the person next to us what the picture/scene said about us and vice versa. We were then asked to communicate to the rest of the group what the other person had said to us about their picture/scene. This was using art as a way of communicating.
In community centres for the elderly they use art and crafts to get the group to communicate with each other. At Easter they use hard-boiled eggs to paint on or make Easter cards. Whatever the activity it is done in a group setting so they can communicate with each other
Artist use their work to communicate aspects of their lives through their design. However as with most artists what message they think they are communicating is not always what the general publics perception is.
Music & drama
“Music can provide an effective communication system for expressing emotion. Music is sometimes called the language of emotion” (BTEC National health studies)
Most songs are about a particular part of the writer’s life yet they can have a whole different meaning to somebody else. Couple often have a special song that has a special meaning to them that they can use to communicate with each without physically speaking.
Doctors’ surgeries and dentist usually have music playing. A lot of pregnant ladies have a tape with all their favourite songs on. It can help them to relax so they can stay focused and better able to communicate with their birthing partner and midwife.
People with learning disabilities can often communicate better with the use of music and drama as they can get across their thoughts and feelings in ways they might not otherwise be able to. People who are deaf can communicate through music even though they can’t physically hear it they can feel the vibrations it gives off. Drama can be used to communicate messages about specific problems like drug and alcohol abuse.
Communication using technology
There are many ways to communicate through technology. Email, fax, mobile phones and power point to name just a few.
When you go to the doctors your prescriptions and medical notes are all done with the use of a computer. If you change doctors your new surgery will send a fax to your old surgery and ask them to fax urgent medical detail.
Just about any local telegraph and newsletter can be looked at on the computer with the use of the Internet. The Internet is possibly the largest and most common use of communication using technology.
Schools now use email and mobile text messaging to inform parents when their child is not in school. Schools have there own websites, which you can use to get in touch with them.
The professor Stephen Hawkings communicates with the use of a portable computer and voice synthesiser. Without the use of technology Professor Hawkins would not be able to communicate quite so effectively.
Picture taken from clipart
Task 2 (pass 2)
The communication cycle
The next stage of the assignment is to describe the communication cycle.
The description shows how the communication cycle is used and the different stages in the cycle. There are 12 stages to the communication cycle as detailed below.
(Diagram taken from www.dyad.org)
The 12 stages of the communication cycle
- Person A wants to communicate with person B and uses eye contact to get their attention.
- Person B acknowledges person A with the return use of eye contact.
- Person A thinks about how they are going to put into words what they want to communicate to person B.
- Person A, having thought about the message puts it across to person B in a way they hope will be understood.
- Person B receives the message and takes it in.
- Person B then decodes the message.
- Person B has decoded the message and uses a facial expression perhaps to give person A an idea if they have understood it or not.
- Person B then thinks about what message they want to reply to person A.
- Person B put their message across to person A.
- Person A receives the message from person B.
- Person A then acknowledges the message sent from person B using facial expressions.
- The cycle now begins all over again.
This breakdown of the communication cycle will hopefully help you to understand how we communicate. With this you can see where the communication could breakdown with difficult situations and circumstances.
Task 3 (merit 1)
Explain how the communication cycle may be used to communicate difficult, complex and sensitive issues
- Learning disability
- Hearing impairment/disability
- Anxiety and depression
- Language difficulties
- Behaviour: Attitude, aggression and submissiveness
- Cultural differences
- Environmental problems
- Time
- Emotional problems
- Values and beliefs
- Prejudices and stereotyping
- Lack of technological aids and equipment
- Social setting
- Visual impairment/disability
With any of the above the communication cycle can both breakdown and be resolved. Where the communication breaks down is almost always at the beginning but how it is resolved is with many different ways and methods.
Learning disability
Communicating with somebody who has a learning disability can be difficult, as they often have no understanding how the communication cycle works. For example an adult whose mind is child like because they got meningitis as a child can only communicate with you like a child would. This can be difficult for people on the outside to understand, because the person looks like an adult but doesn’t act like an adult they don’t know what to do. The communication cycle would breakdown at stage 4 because person A has spoken to person B but they have spoken to them like an adult and they haven’t understood. You could repair the breakdown by either altering the words you use or you could go down to their level of understanding and use Childs play like dressing up and playing games so the communication becomes fun. By adjusting your methods to their methods the communication cycle could get back on track and you should be able to complete the cycle.
Hearing impairment/disability
Communication with somebody who has a hearing impairment or disability can be difficult because they have either little or no hearing. The communication cycle would breakdown at stage 5 because although person A can make eye contact with person B and vice versa person B can’t hear what person A is saying. However the communication breakdown can be repaired using several methods depending on the severity of the disability. If person B was completely deaf then you could use picture cards, sign language or pen and paper. If person B was only partially deaf then technology such as a hearing aid could be used. It is important to remember that eye contact is very important in either of these situations. Now you have repaired the breakdown communication can be continued and completed.
Anxiety, depression and emotional issues
People with any of the above can find it hard to communicate because they are quite commonly associated with bereavement. Because of their condition or state of mind communication can be a slow process because they are crying or angry. They can often be withdrawn or fidget. In these difficult circumstances communication would breakdown at 1. This is because somebody with these difficult issues will often look down or away and you would not be able to make eye contact. However it can be repaired possibly by distraction or change of scenery. By taking person B to an informal setting they might relax and communication should resume.
Language and cultural differences
We live in a multi cultural society and we are also a society who likes to travel to other foreign countries. Because we are such a multi cultural society language and cultural barriers are inevitable. An Asian lady (person A) who speaks no English goes to the local hospital because she has had an accident. The communication would possibly break down at stage 5 because although both person A and B can make eye contact person B is unable to understand what person A is trying to communicate. This can be repaired with the use of an interpreter. By using an interpreter they are able to explain to the doctor what the Asian lady is saying and vice versa. The hospital is also able to give advice sheets and leaflets in several languages.
Behaviour: attitude, aggression and submissiveness
Also environmental problems
Again the communication cycle can be difficult as people with such problems have difficulty communicating or they communicate in an unorthodox method for example with the use of violence. Communication could breakdown in the early stages. For example if person B had attitude or aggressive behaviour towards people in uniforms then the cycle would breakdown at stage 1 because they would become aggressive as soon as they saw somebody in a uniform. The communication barrier could be repaired if they replaced the person in the uniform with a person in ordinary clothing.
People who are submissive, the breakdown would occur at stage 1. This is because another person controls person B. The communication cycle could be repaired but it would take time. The use of counselling or hypnotherapy might be the best option in these situations but sometimes just changing the environment can be enough.
The environment itself can be a communication barrier. Somebody who has a phobia of crowded places who is usually placid could change their attitude and become agitated if suddenly the room they were in became crowded. The communication cycle would break down at any of the stages this is because person B could be communicating well with person A but when the place where they are gets crowded the cycle breaks down no matter what stage they are at You can resolve this by taking the person affected to another less crowded place.
Time
Time is another common cause of communication breakdown. Some people don’t like to be rushed and the communication barrier can breakdown if they feel they are being rushed. I work in care and work to a tight schedule. However I am always running late because I talk too much. The majority of people I attend to live alone and have little or no family or friends who visit them. To spend that little bit of extra time really can make all the difference. If you were a carer (and there are plenty) who just saw the job as a pay packet then the person you are attending to might feel unable to approach you the cycle would therefore breakdown at stage 3. Person B might be able to use eye contact with person A but because they feel rushed they wouldn’t communicate any further with them. You could solve this communication barrier by simply spending a little bit more time with somebody.
Values and beliefs
People who have strong values and beliefs often find it hard to communicate as they are often of an older generation whose values and beliefs are to keep things to themselves and just get on with the task in hand. The communication barriers would therefore breakdown at stage 3, person B is able to make eye contact with person A but because of their values and beliefs to just get on with it they cant and wont communicate further. My Grandad died of cancer and suffered greatly because he came from a generation where you just got on with it, he suffered more than he should have. People from more recent generations are more likely to communicate with medical professionals and get more medical assistance. You could try to repair the older generation syndrome by having one to one conversation and explain to them that they have just as much right as the next person to pain relief etc but this wont be easy.
Prejudices and stereotyping
Television programmes have been made and have proved that people show prejudices towards people of certain generations. They have also proved people show prejudices towards skin colour and beauty. For example the famous page 3 girl Linda Lusardi was made up as an old lady using make up and facial prosthesis. She then went out on the streets to prove that people of a certain age were treat differently. Other famous people such as Caprice was made up as a person with a large facial port wine birthmark. She went to shops etc as herself and as a person with a facial disfigurement. The difference in the way she was treated was enormous. People have also been stereotyped because of the way they dress. For example people make assumptions about what type of person somebody is by the clothes they are wearing. So communication will breakdown at stage 3. Both person A and person B have made eye contact but because of the way person B is dressed person A would not make any attempt to communicate with person B. The way to solve this is by education. People need to be taught that because somebody dresses or looks a certain way they should not be prejudiced or stereotyped because of it.
Lack of technological aids and equipment
The image that immediately springs to my mind is professor Stephen Hawkings. Before he had the portable computer and speech synthesizer the communication cycle would have broke down at stage 3, as person A he could use eye contact to get the attention of person B but it would end there. He could communicate with people who knew him but this was a very long and slow process as the only way to communicate was by spellings words letter by letter. The way in which he did this was somebody pointing to individual letters in the alphabet and he raised an eyebrow when the correct letter was pointed at. This was repaired with the advances in technology for professor Stephen Hawkins and those like him (advanced motor-neurone disease) as the use of a computer and speech synthesizer made it possible for him to do the communicating himself.
Social setting
A group of people on a night out with various disabilities can have various communication problems because of the setting. For example if you take somebody who has aggressive autism to a noisy place then they would become agitated. They might start self harming by banging their head or biting themselves. If they had passive autism they are unable to socialise or play in front of others. Communication would breakdown at stage 3 because as soon as the social setting has changed their behaviour would change. In order to regain communication both forms of autism have to be treated the same way and that is to change the social setting. Take them to quiet places where they are able to be themselves.
Visual impairment/disability
People who are visually impaired or disabled have the disadvantage that they are unable to see or have very little sight. If you gave a book with small text to somebody who has very little sight then communication would break down at stage 3. You, person A is able to make eye contact with Person B and they with you but they are unable to read the book because the text is too small. You could repair this with a book printed in large text or with the use of glasses or a magnifying glass. If person B was totally blind then communication would breakdown at stage 1. Person A is unable to make eye contact with person B. however the same issue can be repaired as books are also available on tape. You, person A could also read the book to person B.
Bibliography
Portch, T. (1999). Communication and Interpersonal Skills. Great Britain: Hodder and Stoughton
Stretch, B, Boak, A, Dunn, O, Haws, H, Herne D, Mason, L, Moonie, L, Webb, D (2006) BTEC National health studies. Oxford: Heinemann
Clipart images taken from clipart on Microsoft word
