Another example is from my work placement, I went to a nursery and the nursery did rely a lot on the computers between staff communication mainly, staff would email in if sick rather than phone also staff rotas would be emailed. I went into a staff meeting at the beginning of the week and the first thing people are asked is if they looked at the rota emailed over the weekend, the information on that email was needed for everybody to be able to understand what was happening in the week. If someone had not read the email and they didn’t turn up to work the legal staff to child ratio would be incorrect.
Another example of computerised communication on my placement was
Oral communication
Oral communication uses words to present ideas, thoughts and feelings. Good verbal communication is the ability to both explain and present your ideas clearly through the spoken word, and to listen carefully to other people. This will involve using a variety of approaches and styles appropriate to the audience you are addressing.Oral communication is important in all care setting. The purpose of oral communication is to exchange information and build relationship between people. The two types of oral communication are formal and informal communication. The types of communication depend upon the level of the patients, family of the patient, staffs, society. It is an effective and quick ways of communication. Different care settings exchange information in different ways.
For example in health care setting, the most common health setting is your local GP. When you have a consultation with your GP you will be both talking. You will be giving your doctor information on your symptoms problems and past clinical histories .and background. Where your doctor will be giving you advice and assurance. Advice needs to be given clearly as it could be dangerous if the patient does the wrong thing for example taking more tablets than necessary.
Oral communication is also important in early year care settings. In a nursery you will be having to communicate with two people the child and the carer, and you would have to talk very differently, it’s important to talk with the child to build up a relationship with them help them to learn, encourage them to try to go further, to help them overcome barriersnursery nurses may have to deal with children having different behaviours. Some might not speak or feel shy to speak and some might be naughty. In that case, service providers should be wise and have patience to deal with. They need to communicate in order to understand children's need. So, they have to speak in a gentle way and help children to speak. Also oral communication is a way of figuring out emotions and picking up body language this is helpful as if a child is upset you have to deal with that. You would have to talk to the parents professionally and informative as they are likely to want to know the development of the child and what they have done during the day.
In social care setting, they have to deal with different types of people of different ages. For example the elderly in a elderly care home. Most elderly people are put into care homes because they are no longer capable of taking care of themselves. The elderly have decline in physical abilities which can make communication more challenging, and some illnesses make communication more difficult. A hearing loss makes you harder to understand, so be patient and speak more clearly.
At my work placement most of the staff to child communication was oral, nursery nurses would be making sure the children are ok by asking questions throughout the day. Also the register is done verbally the children have to shout yes
Written communication
Written communication is the use of letters and/or symbols to form a written message using words in the form of a language. Written communication began with pictures drawn on caves walls or stones called picture grams. Later alphabets were formed as a means to be constructed to form words to express verbal language. It is believed that the true writing of language was invented in Mesopotamia (specifically, ancient Sumer) in 3200 BC. Later paper was introduced and alphabets formed. Written communication is used for formal correspondence today in letter, or report forms, although nowadays most written communication is done through computers using word processing.
New technologies are rapidly changing they we communicate in the written form. Electronic mail allows people to communicate using written text to exchange information without using paper at all. With not having the time delay of people posting letters to each other, communications are concluded far more rapidly and without people having to be in the same physical space.
With the use of mobile phones and smart phones people today can communicate with anybody they know instantly anywhere in the world via the internet.
Written communication in care settings is less popular since computer communication has been introduced. Writing letters used to be the only way of communicating.
In a GP surgery written communication is minimal as it has been replaced by computerised communication. GP’s used to write prescription and write letters to patients to confirm appointments but it is usually all done on the computer now. This is because using a computer is more effective as here isn’t confusion with hand writing or records being lost as they are all backed up on the computer. The computers are less reliable because of situation like power cuts, or if they break though. This is the only issue. The only time that a GP would use written communication is for appointment cards, these cards are used to write down appointment times and date it is usually the doctors secretary that does this.
In a early years setting Most of the written communication is to the parents normally in the form of letters. When I was at my work placement the nursery sent a letter round to the parents about a trip to the sea life centre this was given out to the parents, also throughout the day they have a written diary of what they have eaten if they went to the toilet and if they have had any accidents in the day and this is given to the parents so that they no what happens during their day.
Special methods of communication
The special methods can include British sign language (BSL) for the deaf. It can also include Makaton which is a developing language that uses speech, signs and symbols to help people with learning difficulties. Also special methods can include Braille which is for the blind. It is a system of raised marks that can be felt with your fingers.
Sign language
British Sign Language (BSL) is the first or preferred language of around 250,000 Deaf people in the UK. It is a language of space and movement using the hands, body, face and head. Around 120,000 hearing people also use BSL, meaning it is used more than Welsh or Gaelic.
BSL was recognised as an official British language by the UK government on 18th March 2003, but it does not have any legal protection. This means that Deaf people do not have full access to information and services that hearing people take for granted, including education, health and employment.()
Sign language is a system of non verbal communication. It is normally used by the deaf. Sign language can be used or can be expressed in different ways. Facial expressions are also used to communicate thought or ideas. Sign language is becoming more popular among people and there are many reasons why we should know sign language. One of the reasons is to communicate well with the deaf. If you do not know the language, then you will not be able to communicate with these people. They form a major part of the society and if you cannot communicate with them, you are not doing a fair thing to these people.
Sign can also be expressed using your face, head and bod&
Movements it is also a sign of early communication. When you have learnt these basic movements, you can move forward and learn the advanced movements of the language.
Sign language in services isn’t a legal requirement and local and small services aren’t likely to have them bigger health care services like A&E and Hospital are more likely to have doctors and nurses that no sign language or have an interpreter on sight.
Sign language in a GP is not going to be common i think if someone who’s only way of communication is sign language would have to bring a interpreter with them in the consultation.
I didn’t see any sign language being used on my work placement as their were no deaf children at the nursery.
Makaton
Makaton is a method of communication using signs and symbols and I often used as a communication process for those with learning difficulties. It was first developed in the UK in the 1970s and is now used in over 40 countries around the world. Unlike BSL, Makaton uses speech as well as actions and symbols. It uses picture cards and ties in facial expressions with the word, to make the word more easily recognised by those with learning difficulties. Makaton symbols support the written word in the same way that signs support speech. Most Makaton symbols are black and white pictures illustrating the meaning of the word. This has significantly helped children and adults who cannot read or write who can now have messages, shopping lists or even stories written in symbols.
Makaton is most commonly used in early years out of the three. Schools use Makaton to develop pupils’ communication skills. Makaton uses speech and gesture, facial expression, eye contact and body language. It is a language programme which is based on a selected list of everyday words. Makaton uses speech together with a sign (gesture) and/ or a symbol. The signs and symbols will give extra information which can be seen and through research it has been shown that babies and children learn these signs and gestures more easily than the spoken word. Makaton can help if a child has difficulties with understanding and speaking. Through Makaton, the child is able to develop important communication skills e.g. eye contact, turn taking, making choices, understanding, and sharing information.
on this website there are a variety of videos and games that use makaton and make it fun for children.
Communication can be improved and supported but can also be hindered and blocked by a range of different factors. I am now going to talk about factors that affect and inhibit communication
Emotion
Emotions can help communication as they indicate how the person is feeling, this can help you decide how to communicate with them. If a child was crying in a nursery you wouldn’t shout at them as this would make them feel worse. You would use a soft tone and ask what was wrong, as you wouldn’t be able to solve anything making them more upset.
If someone was all worked up in doctor’s surgery they may be hard to understand. This can prolong the time to find out what’s wrong. People may not even be prepared to find out what’s wrong if they are angry and rude to the service provider.
If a teacher was frustrated about something they may act ‘snappy’ with short sentences and interrupt the child. The child may not be able to get the problem solved i.e. bullying and the child may feel depressed. This can hinder communication as sometimes the staff can make communication worse scaring the child.
Asking open questions can help the person show their emotions as they can say how they feel instead of closed questions which you can only answer ‘yes’ and ‘no’ For example in an Care Home, if the nurse said ‘how are you?’ The women can say ‘I’m good thank you’ – this can help the person feel happier and you don’t miss out if there is any problems. An example of a closed question is the nurse saying ‘Are you okay?’ The women may feel like the question doesn’t cover her emotions. If she was upset she may just say ‘yes’ and feel her emotions are not the nurses problem and she doesn’t really care. If not everyone is treated fairly then this is not supporting the care value of promoting equality and diversity.
Positioning
Positioning can create physical and emotional barriers that hinder communication.
For an emotional example of positioning is where someone is leaning over and looking down at another person. This gives off the impression of dominance and power of the person leaning and the other person would feel helpless. This will affect communication because the person may feel intimidated to say anything so they may not communicate very well or even not at all.
For a Physical example of a barrier would be if someone sat back to back and you couldn’t see them communication will be poor as you can’t see if the other person is listening, they may not also be able to hear you very well. Misunderstandings may occur as the person cannot read your facial expressions or gestures.
The best way to sit would be sat by the side on a slight angle, this gives a friendly feeling.
Your eyes should be at the same level as the person who is communicating as it shows that you’re listening and puts the person at ease.
You should make sure the person whom you are communicating with can see your face as they may have difficulties hearing you. They will be able to see your gestures and your lips so they can understand.
An example of bad positioning is the children sitting far away from the board in the class room as they would hinder communication as they will not be able to answer the questions easily. The teacher may also have to shout to the children to be herd. Shouting information does not support the care value maintaining confidentiality.
Environmental conditions
The environmental conditions are a important as they can either help or hinder communication.
For example at work experience in a primary school the class rooms were clean, this help as the children were in a nice environment to work in so they could concentrate.
The environment was as suited to their age as it had colourful displays to show how hard they worked. This motivates the children and encourages the children to communicate in a written and an oral way.
This can also hinder as if their chairs were too big or small then they wouldn’t be able to concentrate or be comfortable.
The lighting also could hinder or help as if the lighting was too bright then they wouldn’t be able to see and if it was too dark this would cause the same effect.
The weather or room temperature may also hinder communication. For example if the room was too hot or cold in a doctors surgery this may cut short the conversation as you may not want to stay there very long.
Special need
People with special needs need extra help to understand communication for example:
When using Makaton with a person you must make sure the person can see you clearly. You should both face the light and the other person at ALL times. Make sure they can see your mouth. Insure you speak clearly and slowly, only repeat if necessary (rephrasing your words can sometimes help). Make sure you do not shout and try and minimise background noise. Remember to use gestures and facial expressions to make it clearer to the person if appropriate.
You need to take each individual differently to support the care value ‘equality and diversity’ as people are different and have different needs and understand things differently as they may be from a different culture.
If English isn’t a person’s first language they may struggle communicating with service providers. To overcome this problem a translator could be done employed, along with written information or leaflets in different languages. This would promote the care value promoting equality and diversity.
If a person has limited vision then leaflets could be printed with brail, so they could feel the words instead of seeing them.