Induction of Personal Assistants for Students with complex communication and learning needs

Here are a few thoughts on the induction of PAs who have complex communication systems and may also have different ways of learning and relating to others.

  1. Make sure expectations and tasks very clear
  2. Establish clear goals
  3. Clarify personal and professional boundaries from the start
  4. Allow PA to meet wider team members including involved therapists
  5. Clarify house rules
  6. Identify training needs
  7. Establish back up plan if PA not available
  8. Work on how PA with be involved as a ‘Communication Partner’ with young person – teaching them relevant communication skills and process

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Person Centred Planning training in Rotherham – Rowan Centre

Derek Wilson and Colin Newton offered training on Person Centred Planning for students with SEMH needs in Rotherham at the Rowan Centre. We were impressed by the insights and wider work of the team and their acceptance of the systemic problems of Special settings.

I just wanted to say a massive thank you for the training today. I absolutely loved it!! We are in a time of transition at Rowan. Trying to make things better and I know that this process will help us on our way.’ – Vicky Woodrow, Headteacher at The Rowan Centre

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Person Centred Planning with Visually Impaired Children

Every child with VI is different and their vision requires different adaptations. For a PCR I wondered, for those children who require enlargements, or need to be close to visual stimulus, whether a ‘no seats’ arrangement could work, instead everyone stands and wanders around between the sheets throughout the meeting, allowing the child to move closer to whichever section is being discussed at the time. The same could work in a MAP of PATH if the sections or stages were split over different sheets to create more space for everyone to wander between. I would need to look back over my research findings but I do remember children saying they liked the informality of the PCR, created by sitting in a circle (rather than at a meeting table) and with the music. A mingling-style meeting might feel even more dynamic and relaxed, which the children seemed to appreciate.  Of course using larger visuals/ thicker pens/ specific colours could also be helpful as well as considering lighting, glare, reflection from whiteboards/ shiny paper.
 
I wondered about using the MAP tool with a registered blind child. We have a lady in the office who creates braille resources and I thought of asking her to have the MAP headings on a sheet of paper to reflect what was on the wall. The child could refer to this so he could see where we were in the process. I also thought of using objects of reference to serve the same purpose, which would also be a visual cue for the whole group but I would ask him to hold it for me to show everyone what stage we were on (in fact he could do the job of raising it up in the air if he thought discussions were getting off-topic!)! I’m just a bit stuck on recording the discussions. If I do a visual on the wall, as usual for everyone in the meeting to see, it feels like he is excluded somehow, unless I talk through what has been drawn regularly for him.  Julie White, Educational Psychologist, Cambridge
 
 
 

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Contact Us

Colin Newton

0115 955 6045

Doug Newton

dnewton123@ntlworld.com

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