Communicate with Me

How can I communicate even more effectively with people who have learning disabilities? Communicate with Me is an invaluable toolkit for carers, professionals, schools and services striving to improve the quality of their communication with those they support. Key features include: a comprehensive range of techniques and guidance for carers and professionals around how to communicate with and involve children and adults with learning disabilities; a wealth of practical examples and case studies to illustrate and contextualise the suggested approaches; a detailed quality assurance framework to help schools and services develop CPD, establish excellence across their organisations in the way that they communicate with people with learning difficulties and improve outcomes for those they support. Communicate with Me is a resource for anyone involved in supporting children or adults with a learning disability including residential or community support workers, play workers, advocates and teachers who work directly with people, as well as line managers and service managers who can facilitate change within service structures and promote good practice in their teams. Martin Goodwin is an experienced practitioner who has more than 18 years experience in working with children and young people in a range of capacities including management and direct delivery. Martin is a qualified teacher/ trainer in post compulsory education and children's rights advocate with a BA Hons in Professional Studies: Learning Difficulties, PG Cert in Social Studies and MA in Youth and Community studies. Jennie Miller specialises in working with adults with a learning disability in the residential setting where she has over ten years' experience, holding a management role since 2004. Jennie has a BA (hons) in Professional Studies: Learning Difficulties. Cath Edwards has over thirty years' experience of working with children and young people with learning disabilities including autism and severe and profound multiple learning disability. Cath has a BEd in education, a degree-level qualification in special educational needs, and is a Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. Cath is also a qualified yoga teacher and a professional storyteller. Review: The publication of this resource is timely. Services are shrinking and specialist support is contracting. People with learning disabilities need informed, committed and skillful partners in their struggle to take their rightful place in society - and this accessible, interactive and comprehensive guide will prove an invaluable support to everyone who has the privilege and the challenge of sharing their lives and work with people who have difficulties in communication. Dr Nicola Grove, Consultant in Communication and Narrative, Honorary Senior Lecturer, Tizard Centre, Founder, Openstorytellers.

Catharine Edward, Martin Goodwin

Foreword, Acknowledgements, Introduction to Communicate with Me, Foundation for communication and involvement, Communicate with Me approaches and tools for work practice, Part 1 Welcome me, Part 2 Including and involving me, Part 3 Structuring for communication, References, Further reading and resources, What's next?