An individual who is non-verbal can find it extremely difficult to get their thoughts and feelings across effectively.
This lack of communication can lead to their needs not being met properly, but also feeling extremely isolated.
These difficulties may stem from a physical health problem, or due to a developmental disorder, such as a stroke. Regardless of the cause, ensuring effective communication is vital for the individual’s quality of life.
To ensure effective communication, you can take the following steps:
Pick up on nonverbal cues
Body language is a powerful tool, and when an individual is unable to voice their thoughts, picking up on these nonverbal cues is essential.
Tools such as eye movements, facial expressions, and gestures can reveal a lot about what a person is trying to convey.
With this in mind, each individual will communicate differently, so it is important to be patient as understanding these cues can take time.
Think about how you communicate
If someone has difficulties with hearing, you need to think about how you can alter the way you communicate to ensure you are understood.
Depending on the needs of the individual that you are supporting, this could mean simply altering your tone of voice, or slowing down your speech.
However, there may be more effective methods of communication, such as learning British Sign Language (BSL) or Sign Supported English (SSE).
Get personalised support
At Synergy Complex Care, we work alongside speech and language therapists to ensure that each client is given the opportunity to build their communication skills.
We take a person-centred approach with every client to ensure our care is tailored to their needs, including taking the time to understand how individuals can communicate effectively.
Do you need support for yourself or a loved one? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team today.