Students on placement help to improve communication
Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:37:00 GMT
Students Rebecca Day and Rachel Jeffries have developed a communication resource, whilst they were on their placement on Calderdale Royal Hospital. This was developed as part of a special project to help improve communication with children who have autism or a severe learning disability. The communication resource involves visual communication using coloured symbols. These help the staff when they are explaining to the children about what will happen throughout the day, including the treatments they are having and who will be performing the treatments. As children with autism and learning disabilities take longer to process information, providing visual prompts along with verbal communication enables them to process information more efficiently.
Julie Couldwell, Clinical Nurse Manager Paediatrics at Calderdale and Huddersfield Foundation Trust commented “Rachel and Rebecca have developed a fantastic communication resource for children with autism and severe learning disabilities. This is currently being cascaded with nursing, medical and play staff to help improve their awareness and communication skills with this patient group.”
