There are many challenges involved when interacting with someone with a communication disability. This course not only provides an insight into what it is like to live with a communication difficulty, but also offers practical tips and suggestions on how to deal with the challenges that you might face in your day to day role and the barriers you might need to overcome.
The course also offers you the chance to work with the real experts in communication, our trainers with aphasia. You can gain practical feedback and advice on your communication skills and what you could do moving forward.
This course was developed with a foundation of research into aphasia and expertise in supported conversation by Connect, the communication disability. It is published within the Conversation Partner Toolkit (Connect Press 2007). It has been tried and tested.
'Extremely useful course for increasing my knowledge, confidence and practical skills'(Occupational Therapist).'
An increased knowledge of the barriers and issues faced by someone with a communication disability.
New techniques to communicate effectively and compassionately with someone with a communication disability and practical tips for your own setting.
This course is for anyone that would like to enhance their communication skills, for example students studying any health/social care course, occupational therapists, nurses, care home and rehab assistants, doctors, speech and language therapists etc.
The course is interactive, with power point introduction, workshop, video workshop and feedback and then in the second half a practical component with trainers with aphasia. The trainers have a twenty minute conversation and then give their direct assessment to the student. A partnered student also gives feedback. Every student will have the opportunity to have this direct assessment from both trainee with aphasia and peer feedback.
Kagan A. (1995) Revealing the competence of aphasic adults through conversation: a challenge to health professionals. Topics in Stroke Rehab 2:15-28.
Kagan, A. & Shumway, E. (2003) Talking to your …. Interactive resources for people and their health practitioners. www.aphasia.ca
Knight, G (2005) Better Conversations. Connect Press
Murphy, J., Tester, S., Hubbard, G., Downs, M., and MacDonald, C. (2005) Enabling frail older people with a communication difficulty to express their views: the use of Talking Mats as an interview tool. Health and Social Care in the Community 13(2), 95-107
Parr S. (2007) Living with severe aphasia: tracking social exclusion Aphasiology 21 98-123
Parr, S. (2004) Living with severe aphasia - the experience of communication impairment after stroke . Pavillion- Joseph Rowntree Foundation Parr S., Byng S., Gilpin S. with Ireland C. (1997) Talking about aphasia Open University Press
Parr S., Duchan J. & Pound C. (2003) Aphasia inside out: reflections on communication disability. Open University Press
Parr S., Pound C., Byng S., Long B., Moss R., (2004) The Stroke and Aphasia Handbook.
Penn,C, Frankel,T,Watermweyer J and Muller,M (2009) Informed consent and aphasia: Evidence of pitfalls in the process. Aphasiology, 23, 1, 3-32.
van der Gaag, A, Smith, L, Davies, S, Moss, B, Mowles, C. (2005) Connect therapy and support services for people with long term stroke and aphasia and their relatives; a six month follow up study. Clinical Rehabilitation, 19, 372-81.
