be accessed through employers, local support groups and also colleges. It
can give people a sense of belonging and involvement within the
community that they live in, it can also break down the communication
barrier and open a new world for the persons involved, people with learning difficulties, accents and disabilities, all need to be communicated with, this is achievable on any level. The way in which it is received can be a positive step towards knowledge and independence.
Environmentally there could be a fear of areas in certain cities, which hold a possibility of threat. This could be towards any age person not just elderly people. This could be because of high numbers of thefts from cars, reported physical attacks, and other crimes. These things deposit bad thoughts and negative feelings towards those areas. There could be a lack of public transport for all individuals to access, this lack could be increased if you are disabled and are restricted to a chair. If you have little or no support you would find public transport unavailable for use. Other barriers will then appear like being cut off from normal things able bodied people take for granted such as access to the shops, social events and so on. These factors can then develop other stress symptoms such as mental health symptoms, depression and can exacerbate lack of self-esteem, confidence and personal skills can lead to the development of barriers to communication that can grow into bitterness and resentment. Local authorities need to be aware of the fears within their local communities ,local police officers could start to walk on foot patrols within the areas as before, and the police could draw up local interest to protect the local people and bring into the community neighbour hood watch schemes, and produce an awareness of their presence in the community.
When we consider people with hearing difficulties, who access all the
same venues as hearing people, but can find it more difficult to relate to items of
interest because of lack of poor devices, hearing aid equipment, hearing loops, which make some places remain inaccessible for them. Since the disability discrimination act, all institutions and commercial enterprises must make themselves accessible to all regardless of disability. It is hoped that this will raise awareness and will make society more inclusive of all.
Our society should always remember that older people need looking after too perhaps during the winter months adverts could be run in the newspapers and on television asking people to check on an elderly neighbour you haven’t seen for a few days. This would help to bring faith and caring back into a lot of communities.
Councils and other service providers do provide information for Visually Impaired people and for other Cultures in the format that they require. For example, their
council tax bill can be provided in Braille or Chinese or any particular language required.
Some people have barriers to communication through not having a
telephone. Some elderly people do not have access to modern information communications technology such as the internet or may not read and write. This can restrict communication and lead to illness and death. These days there are aids to help the elderly to link up to local authorities or a relative this can alleviate worries and unnecessary stress, not having a form of communication can lead to withdraw from the community presence and lead to feelings of not belonging. Everybody needs to belong somewhere and to be cared for by some body, this could be either paid care or family care, when family care is involved solely this can brings immense strain on family life when caring for a elderly relative, it adds extra responsibility to the usual routine and can be a transitional shock for many. This is where extra support is required to alleviate stresses and strains as this will become a further strain on health professionals, instead of providing care for one person it will become two or three patients in time.
On a personal level, barriers to communication can be found in the home. Promoting regular times for conversation and information to be shared, this could be at meal times or bed times as this can improve communication. Some people like to meet in a “neutral” place such as a café or bar, this could be to discuss important matters. The reasons people easily engage in to a conversation in these places are these simple facts: Lack of noise and distractions. People are calmer in a public place and the atmosphere can reflect a calm mood, good food and maybe a little alcohol for adults, and feeling comfortable in the presence of others. Having children that are hard to reach through barriers of communication can be very stressful upon the parents, some partners cannot cope with the breakdown in communication as a result of this their relationship may suffer.
Some individuals have problems with communication and interpersonal
interaction; because they are deaf and mute. This restricts the amount of
people that can have interpersonal interaction with them, due to the lack of skills in Makaton or British sign language. They have to be able to
engage the person’s attention before any understanding can be achieved. If
there is misunderstanding on both sides things can quickly escalate to
frustration and anger. Support services to individuals are available
through psychologists, social workers and sign language interpreters. They include training in basic makaton and help with support to read Braille. In further education, help can be provided in the form of support workers, signers and so on. An individual person centred plan is drawn up with the appropriate people, where providers can work together to ensure good levels of care are met. Courses such as British Sign Language or English as a Second Language can be found free at most colleges. For different cultures although they are able to speak and hear, there is a language barrier, which can stop effective communication, and this can be ethically unacceptable because people can cross these barriers if they choose to or try to give time to understand.
Overall, barriers to communications can be a contributing factor in neglectful situations. People may suffer and be excluded because of other people’s neglect or omissions to report such barriers. It is especially important in the caring profession, that we are aware and do all that we can to overcome these barriers to communication.
Joyce Withey.
1387 words.
Joyce Withey,
Health Studies,
Due Date: 19th November 2004,
Barriers to effective interpersonal communications.
