Inclusive Communication The Essex Way

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Inclusive Communication The Essex Way
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Rosemary Leak

• Inclusive Communication Essex (ICE) Project
  Manager
• Essex County Council
• Adults, Health and Community Wellbeing, and
  Schools, Children and Families

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What is Total or Inclusive Communication?
Level
Ways
Inclusion
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speech
signing
body language and behaviour
pictures
photographs
informal gestures
symbols
objects
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Level

• Using the right level of communication for your
  audience
• Across all different ways communicating

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Inclusion

• People are enabled to use their communication to
  be fully included in making decisions, making
  choices and being as independent as possible

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So what are we trying to do?
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What needed to be in the Strategy?

• Peoples right to their form of communication
  being valued and accepted
• A shared language that includes everyone

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Every Child Matters Change for children

• Good understanding of what is going on
• Services commissioned with an inclusive
  communication approach
• Speech and Language Therapists
• Services providing support to people

?
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• Standards guidelines
• Training
• Tools and materials for people to use
• Structures to make things work
• Identified funding and resources

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Examples of the work to date
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Training

• ICE Process
• Generic inclusive communication suite of training
• Making Information Easier to Understand
• Expansion of signing trainers

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Commissioning of services
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• Provider services
• Organisational level
• Individual level
• Transition
• Monitoring and Reviewing
• Speech and Language Therapists

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Standards guidelines

• Accessible generic information

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1. A general document or policy
2. Plain English version Crystal Mark
3. Easy words, pictures, photos and graphics
4. Option to produce on audio tape, CD,
video etc
5. Version with agreed symbols
Simple English and symbols
6. Individual solutions include any of the
above plus other materials
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Sharing Days

• 2003
• 2007
• 2009

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Tools materials

• ICE Resource Service

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The challenges!

• The amount of work to be done on communication.
• The amount of work that others are doing already.
• Working across different directorates agencies
  and organisations.
• Speech and Language Therapists.
• Maintaining a focus on all areas of an
  individuals life.

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And the future?

• Mainstreaming of the approach in adult services
  by March 2009.
• 1st phase of development of the ICE Resource
  Service complete by July 2009.
• Project Management led developments continuing in
  Schools, Children and Families until March 2011.

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Questions or things you would like to discuss?
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