Establishing and Developing Communication with young people who are multiply disabled and VI or who are multisensory impaired
Thursday 25 May 2006
In communication we share
Emotions
Theme
Expressions
Triadic - communicator and deafblind person share a 3rd element
Gesture
Person
Object
Potential communicative expressions can become communicative if the partner:
- looks upon them as meaningful
- discovers them
- confirms them
- tries to interpret them
- and waits for the reaction of the deafblind person
The process of negotiation:
- Negotiations are organised as small dialogues.
- They follow a basic procedure in the co-construction of shared meaning and shared vocabulary.
Interpretation:
- The partner suggests an interpretation to the deafblind person (usually imitation plus expansion).
- The partner gives a turn; waits for the deafblind person to accept or reject this interpretation.
Accepting or rejecting:
The deafblind person accepts or rejects the suggested interpretation (appears as bodily behaviour; smiles or persists, protests, frowns, freezes).
What is the negotiation about?
- The meaning of the expresions
- Time aspect
- The motive of the expressions: Converse about something, share thoughts (declarative function); want something, need help for something (imperative function).
Gestures emerging from experiences:
- Iconic gestures (the body or the hands represent the mental image)
- Metonymy (one part of the image represents the whole image)
- Metaphor (abstract meaning - represented by concrete mental images - 'as if')
- Localisation (pointing)
- Emotional expressions and environmental sounds.