resources
Communicating in easy words and pictures
Fiona McDonald and Ruth Garbutt of CHANGE, a UK national organisation for people with learning disabilities, provide an update on its exciting work with parents, including the recent handbook You and your little child 1-5: a guide for parents in pictures and easy words. Nicky Genders, Principal Lecturer in Learning Disability Nursing at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, DeMontfort University, Leicester, UK, reviews the handbook.
At CHANGE, parents with learning disabilities take a leading role in campaigning, training and setting standards in accessible information.
The Words to Pictures Team at CHANGE - a group of skilled trainers with learning disabilities - regularly delivers training on 'How to make your information easy to understand using easy words and pictures'.
They have trained hundreds of professionals around the country including social workers, health visitors, community nurses and over 400 inspectors from the Commission for Social Care Inspectorate.
Last year, CHANGE produced You and your little child 1-5: a guide for parents in pictures and easy words, a new accessible book about parenting using easy words and over 800 illustrations, which gives parents advice about looking after small children.
This book follows on from the You and your baby 0-1 book. Both books were written with input from parents with learning disabilities and professionals from around the country. The books are also an invaluable resource for other parents, including those whose first language is not English, and teenage parents.
2008 is an exciting year for CHANGE. The Pregnancy Project will be launching a new book in easy words and pictures called My pregnancy, my choices.
"It's important that a person with learning disabilities has clear and easy information about what happens in pregnancy because a lot of information is confusing and difficult." Brian Booth, parent with learning disabilities and Pregnancy Project Co-worker.
"Having good, clear information from day one means parents will know what to do and have more confidence and independence." Shaun Webster, parent with learning disabilities and Parents Training for Change Project Development Worker.
Working in partnership
CHANGE is involved in several national projects supporting parents with learning disabilities. At CHANGE parents with learning disabilities run the Parents Network in partnership with the Norah Fry Research Centre at Bristol University, and work with parenting groups nationally to link together parents and professionals.
This is for mutual support and to enable parents to have a voice about issues that affect their lives. The Parents Network also links parents and professionals to lobby for changes in government policy and to influence key decision-makers.
Parents Training for Change trains parents with learning disabilities to become trainers. Parents with learning disabilities learn how to train professionals and students in order to support them to improve their attitudes and practices towards parents with learning disabilities.
"People with learning disabilities have the personal experience, we are the experts. That is why we are the best people to deliver training to professionals." Shaun Webster, parent with learning disabilities and Parents Training for Change Project Development Worker.
Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities is a partnership project between the Race Equality Foundation and CHANGE. Together we are producing an accessible book about how to be good parents and the importance of communities. This will be used as part of a parenting training course.
Talking about Sex and Relationships is a partnership project between Leeds University and CHANGE. We are using drama, interviews and questionnaires to find out the views of young people with learning disabilities, their parents and teachers, about sex education and relationships.
People with learning disabilities have told CHANGE that sex and relationships are important issues for them and that they want more accessible information about them. The research on this project will be used to improve information about sex and relationships for people with learning disabilities nationally.
"Young people with learning disabilities have a right to know about sex and relationships. Having clear information helps them know more and be able to make decisions about their own lives and to also stay safe.
"Everyone with learning disabilities has an equal right to live life to the full. We have a right to independence, choice, relationships, family, clear information, equally paid work and most of all respect." John Tattersall, parent with learning difficulties and Sexuality Project Co-ordinator.
For further information on any aspect of CHANGE's work, visit www.changepeople.co.uk
Fiona McDonald and Ruth Garbutt
Review: You and your little child 1-5: a guide for parents in pictures and easy words is produced in a ring-bound folder with coloured pages and appropriate line drawings.
The practical advice and guidance covers parenting children from one to five focusing on the following key areas: parenting skills; routines; play and learn; food safety; child safety; health and say no to abuse.
Each chapter has a number of guidance points written in easy to read language supported by illustrations. Both text and illustrations have been tested by groups of parents with a learning disability to ensure readability.
Each chapter includes a pull-out resource for parents, for example behavioural star charts and recipes.
Chapter 1 on parenting skills focuses on listening and talking, teaching your child to share, helping your child to be happy and confident, difficult behaviour, using time out, partners supporting each other, answering questions children ask and talking about disabilities to your child.
Chapter 2 is about routines and includes keeping clean, bedtime, getting dressed, potty training, learning together and family time.
Chapter 3 has its focus on play and learning and includes ideas for play indoors, ideas for play outside and going to nursery.
Chapter 4 deals with food, including eating well and food safety. This section also includes some recipe sheets that can be removed and used.
Chapter 5 has a focus on the important aspect of child safety. It includes guidance on safety in the home and outdoors.
Chapter 6 on health uses clear guidance on some general principles of when a child is ill, the types of common childhood illnesses and when to call a doctor.
The final chapter focuses on protection from abuse and covers anger management, violent partners, bullying and being assertive.
Overall this book could be an invaluable resource for some parents with learning disabilities to use independently and for others to use with the support of a professional or support worker. It could also be used as a basis for parenting workshops and courses aimed at enhancing the parenting skills of people with learning disabilities.