How to Assess Early Communication Skills in Adults

This half day workshop teaches you to recognise different levels of communication and how to adapt your communication style for meaningful interactions with people who have significant intellectual disabilities.

• Easy to learn
• Easy to use and
• Easy to interpret

Based on scientific research, the Triple C will help you work out just what a person understands. Many people have little or no speech. Without speech it can be hard to work out a person’s communication skills. Not everyone can understand speech but the Disability Services Act says we still need to provide information in a way that has meaning for the person. This half day workshop teaches you to recognise different levels of communication and how to adapt your communication style for meaningful interactions with people who have a significant intellectual disability.

At the conclusion of this half day workshop, participants will be able to:

• Understand the issues in assessing people who are at an unintentional or early intentional level of communication
• Identify 3 different types of communicators: unintentional, intentional informal and symbolic
• Use a “train the trainer” model to support others in identifying the skills and needs of different types of communicators (unintentional, intentional informal and symbolic)
• Demonstrate a knowledge of where to find a range of communication strategies that will support the quality of life, receptive and expressive skills of different types of communicators

Audience

• Disability Support Workers
• Therapists
• Interested others

Presenter

Karen Bloomberg

Karen is a speech pathologist at the Communication Resource Centre experienced in working with people who have complex communication needs. Resources she has developed include: “PrAACtically Speaking”, Triple C assessment, and the InterAACtion manual (Strategies for intentional and unintentional communicators). She has co-authored a number of books and research papers. She lectures in AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) at Latrobe University, is the national training coordinator for Key Word Sign Australia and works for the Communication Resource Centre, Scope.