Hannah Church, Group Chief Marketing Officer at Smartbox Assistive Technology, shares how communication and connection are at the heart of unlocking a future we want to be part of.
We have a clear vision at Smartbox – a world where no one is left without a voice. Our work to achieve this takes us into homes, schools and settings around the world with assistive technology that enables non-speaking people to have their voice heard and help them achieve their goals. The community Smartbox is part of is a truly incredible one; where clinicians, carers, families and people who use technology to support their communication, come together. The specialist area of work for these clinicians, and the technology we develop, is referred to as Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). The irony of this wordy title is not lost on any of us…
But what is AAC? And how is it relevant to the role of leaders in Care? AAC is any communication device, tool or strategy that supports or replaces spoken language, and 1 in 200 people in the UK need it1. Over our lifetimes, a staggering 20% of us will experience communication difficulty at some point2. Yet, while awareness of support and equipment for people with a vision, mobility or hearing difference is well understood and signposted, communication is trailing behind. And communication is fundamental to ensuring we can live safe, self-determined and independent lives. It’s how we understand the wishes, feelings and goals of the people we serve – essential components of delivering excellent care and safeguarding.
When we think specifically about how many adults in care services could benefit, 18% of the 800,000 people accessing support in 2019/20 had learning disabilities3 – and between 50-90% of people with a learning disability typically have communication difficulties4. This is a huge pool of people who could be missing out on the basic right to have a voice. Whether it is telling someone that our jumper label is rubbing and driving us to distraction or an aching desire to share a specific thought, through to disclosing that someone is causing us harm – we all have that right to a voice. The impact of having a voice is that you can live with greater independence, be understood and shape your own future.
Whether it is telling someone that our jumper label is rubbing and driving us to distraction or an aching desire to share a specific thought, through to disclosing that someone is causing us harm – we all have a right to a voice. The impact of having a voice is that you can live with greater independence, be understood and shape your own future.
When we started working with Gyorgy Budi, Registered Manager at Selwyn Care, as part of a joint initiative after Smartbox became part of the CareTech Group, he was curious about how access to AAC would affect the day-to-day lives of the people he and his team were supporting. A few months on he reflected, “We have one particular service user in Jasper Lodge who, prior to Smartbox, was unable to stay on one activity for more than five minutes. But I saw him today, communicating and being able to interact with another person, for about 30 minutes. That’s quite amazing.”
We are here to support and provide specialist technology when a communication gap appears – between what someone would like to share versus what they are able to, for whatever reason that may be. Our approach is based on a one-size-fits-one philosophy. Voices are as unique as a fingerprint, with our experiences, character, heritage, all playing out in the words we choose and how we choose to do so.
At Hill House, a specialist education service for autism and complex learning difficulties, we worked collaboratively with the team to develop their integration of AAC technology into their provision for young people. Headteacher Kate Landells was delighted with the impact that a positive communication environment had on the outcomes and achievements of the students, sharing “The team has started to use communication aids to model how the children can talk about their emotions and to show them how to ask for their support strategies and this has meant that in some scenarios the children have been able to use their devices to ask for specific strategies to help them stay well regulated”. This has resulted in the number of incidents for young people who had begun using a communication aid reducing on average by 48% from the previous year after 12 months.
The impact has extended beyond people’s experience at home and school and into their interactions in the community, with people using their voices to independently build connections in local cafés and leisure centres. Kate smiles as she reflects on one young person’s experience, “she used her device to find any and every symbol on her device that involved swimming and water to tell her team that she wanted to go swimming, it was amazing. We never knew there were that many ways to communicate that you really wanted to go swimming: beach, swimming, swimming pool, swimming costume, river, water, water play, rain, goggles! It’s been a real pleasure and privilege to have had this opportunity for the children at Hill House and we are incredibly grateful. The whole process from assessment through to training has been so enjoyable for everyone on site.”
If you believe there may be an individual in your service who would benefit from access to technology to have their voice heard, we are here to support you and your team. Get in touch at thinksmartbox.com/contact.
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2 https://www.rcslt.org/policy-and-influencing/communication-access-uk/
4 https://www.imagineinclusion.co.uk/media/files/Communication%2002.pdf
