Diverse Populations

Question 1

Who are Diverse Populations?

Answer 1

• Ethnicity
• Language
• Sexual Orientation
• Age
• Gender
• Geography
• Education
• Life Experience (employment, family challenges etc.)

Question 2

Deaf

Answer 2

The term given to a person who has some degree of hearing loss (usually profound and from a young age) who identifies as belonging to the deaf community and uses sign language as their preferred language.

Question 3

Hearing Loss

Answer 3

Someone who is hearing impaired, has difficulty hearing speech sounds, and uses spoken language as their preferred language.

Question 4

For Communicating with People with Hearing Loss

Answer 4

• More words, not less.
• Consonants are often lost so put messages into as much context as possible.
• Sometimes written notes don’t help as deaf people can have low levels of literacy.
• Use a sign language interpreter

Question 5

Inclusive Language Examples

Answer 5

• Put the person not the disability first.

- Be aware of limiting talk.

Question 6

Dementia

Answer 6

A brain related disorder caused by diseases and other conditions. 
- Genetic 
Involves loss of 
- Memory 
- Intellect 
- Rationality 
- Social Skills 
- 'Normal' emotional reactions

Question 7

Communication Issues for Those with Dementia

Answer 7

• Difficulty finding words
• Using speech that doesn’t make sense
• Deteriorated writing and reading skills
• Loss of normal social convention of conversation
• Difficulty expressing emotion

Question 8

Barriers to Communication: Dementia

Answer 8

Patient has a decline in cognitive abilities and sensitivity to emotional distress.
Staff-patient ratios are often inconsistent and there is not enough time to spend with each person.
Environmental challenges can consist of unfamiliar challenging environments.

Question 9

Dementia and the Brain

Answer 9

In dementia, the information stored on the left side of the brain (vocabulary, formal language etc.) is lost, while the right side (racial slurs, forbidden language etc.) are retained.

Question 10

Dementia Behaviour-Communication

Answer 10

1. Aggressive speech or actions
2. Confusion about time or place
3. Poor judgement or cognitive problems

Question 11

How NOT to communication with people with dementia

Answer 11

• Argue
• Order the person around
• Focus on what they can’t do
• Be condescending
• Don’t ask questions that rely on memory
• Don’t talk in from of them as though they aren’t there

Question 12

M.E.S.S.A.G.E

Answer 12

Maximise attention 
Expression and body language 
Keep it Simple 
Support the conversation 
Assist the visual aids
Get their message 
Encourage and engage in communication.

Question 13

S.P.I.K.E

Answer 13

S- Setting - private setting, setting without interruptions
P- Assessing the Patients Perception - Checking what the patient has already been told and checking their understanding of the situation.
I- Obtaining the patient’s INFORMATION- Some patients font ask about the situation, so asking about how they would like the information (all at once, alone etc.)
K- Giving KNOWLEDGE and information to the patient - Can start by ‘warning’ the person that they are about to be told bad or sad news. Can be useful to give info in chunks and check understanding as you go along.
E- Addressing the Patients EMOTIONS with Empathetic responses - Observe and identifying the emotions apparent, connect the emotion with the reason, ask if unsure.

Question 14

Communicating with children age 0-2

Answer 14

Skills; 
- vocalisation
- recognise words 
- experiment 
Communicate; 
- facial expressions 
- clear sounds

Question 15

Communicating with children age 2-6

Answer 15

skills; 
- language development
- understanding
- express themselves 
communicate; 
- simple language 
-repetition, rhythm and song 
- stories and narratives

Question 16

Communicating with children age 4-6

Answer 16

skill; 
- understanding order
- perspective taking 
-empathy
- concrete understanding
communicate; 
- rhymes and riddles 
- jokes 
- simple explations

Question 17

Communicating with children age 7-10

Answer 17

skills; 
- understand logic and structure 
- organise ideas 
-reading 
communicate; 
- stories about friendship, skills and talents 
- critical thinking and problem solving

Question 18

Communicating with children age 11-14

Answer 18

skills; 
- moral understanding
- rational debate 
- sophisticated language (sarcasm, coding). 
communicate; 
- moral standards 
- independence 
- exchange of ideas 
- dyadic discussion

Question 19

principles of communicating with a child

Answer 19

1. be age appropriate and child focussed
2. address the child holistically
3. be positive and strength based

Question 20

helping a child problem solve

Answer 20

• Listen carefully and politely. Don’t interrupt the child when he is trying to tell his story.
  
  • Don’t be a wipe out artist, unravelling minor threads of a story and never allowing the child’s own theme to develop.
  • Don’t ask why but do ask what happened
  • If you have knowledge of the situation, confront the child with the information that you know or have been told.
  • Keep adult talking and moralizing to a minimum because they are not helpful in getting communication open and keeling it open.
  • Assist the child in planning some specific steps to the solution.
• nonverbal communication
• words of encouragement

Question 21

autism

Answer 21

• Austism is a spectrum

- Autism refers to developmental delays

Question 22

Communicating with a person with autism

Answer 22

• Acknowledge social differences
  ○ Cognitive
  ○ Sensory
  ○ Language
  
  • Fear of the patient/person impeded communication
    ○ Increase your knowledge
  • Communication is an interaction
    ○ Be aware of your own communication limitations
    ○ Sensory awareness
    ○ Improves: trust, compliance, health seeking behaviour, diagnostic, reasoning, quality screening.
    Check for understanding - for yourself and patient.

Question 23

DON’Ts for communicating with autistic people

Answer 23

• Patronise, demean or stereotype
  ○ Reinforce stigma
  
  • Talk down or exclude
    ○ Poor eye contact does not mean the person is not listening
  • Get offended by frank and honest responses
  • Make assumptions!
  • Overload multiple senses!
  • Generalise - we all have individual differences

Question 24

strategies for communicating with people who are acutely psychotic

Answer 24

• Notice, don’t ignore
  
  • Be encouraging and supportive
  • Show empathy
  • Honesty and respect
  • Observe first
  • Slow your speech
  • Use simple vocabulary
  • Be comfortable with silence
  • Be flexible
  • Consult family/friends
  • Choose location
  • Give advance notice
  • Provide positive feedback and encouragement
  • Be assertive
  • Be more visual or demonstrative than usual
  • Listen to their experience