‘The ability to understand others, express views and contribute to personal decision making is a basic human right…’ - UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, Article 12

 

Total Communication is a holistic approach which actively promotes all methods of communication and is used within school and across our service, when appropriate.

Here are some examples of different formal and non-formal types of communication that can be used:

• Non-verbal: including body movements, breathing patterns and eye pointing. Textures, smells, temperature, intensive interaction, role play and routine can also support communication by allowing an individual to anticipate what is going to happen next.
• Language-based communication: including speech, lip reading, giving and receiving information in large print, Braille, and sign systems, including British Sign Language (BSL).
• Symbol systems: including using objects of reference (real objects and object symbols), Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), line drawings, pictures, photographs and videos.

These methods of communication can be used in any combination and will be individual to the person.

Our aim is to teach and support the use of these methods so that everyone is able to feel included, respected, valued and is able to participate fully in their communities and access education.

 

“Language and literacy are of personal, social and economic importance. Our ability to use language lies at the centre of the development and expression of our emotions, our thinking, our learning and our sense of personal identity. Language is itself a key aspect of our culture. Through language children and young people can gain access to the literary heritage of humanity and develop their appreciation of the richness and breadth of Scotland’s literary heritage. Children and young people encounter, enjoy and learn from the diversity of language used in their homes, their communities, by the media and by their peers.”

A Curriculum for Excellence, 2010

 

Here the word ‘language’ could be replaced by ‘communication’ therefore one concept should never be far from the other. The word ‘communication’ will include all aspects of oral, aural, manual and written methods.