Using an interdisciplinary approach to training to develop the quality of communication with adults with profound learning disabilities by care staff

Abstract

The study examines the effects of training on care staff's communication to service users with profound and severe learning disabilities. An interdisciplinary therapeutic training programme aimed to improve care staff's cognitions about disability, to alter their communicative practice and to provide them with practical solutions to the communication difficulties of the service users. Participants were each video recorded with a single service user before and during training. The recordings formed the basis of the communication workshops. Both baseline and final recordings were evaluated using criteria based on verbal and non‐verbal interactions. The criteria assessed alterations in the care staff's language use, verbal responses, and interpretation and praise of service users' communication. The use of posture, position, eye contact and gaze monitoring during interactions was also evaluated. The pre‐ and post‐training analysis demonstrated alterations and improvements in care staff's use of verbal communication as well as gaze monitoring and position during interactions. A follow‐up study 6 months later showed many of the post‐training positive changes had been maintained or had continued to develop. It is suggested that the success and implementation of the communication training in the workplace was due to the collaborative therapeutic nature of the training package. The interdisciplinary and integrated training programme had facilitated a willingness to change and led to the development of a positive view of each other's practice. The recommendations from each of the therapist's training programme formed an integral part of the care staff's new care plans for each service user. This contributed to the continuing development the care staff's therapeutic role.