Introducing Alternative Communication

Posted on By Sarah.SGF

Our partners at Communication Space in Moscow continue their core work of teaching disabled young people to communicate. Here a communication book is enabling a chat about dinosaurs.

Excitingly, in the last year our colleagues have had the opportunity to teach others their methods. After an online training session on adapting books for non-verbal children, a specialist went away with plans to create a reading corner full of adapted books at her centre. Their teaching session at a conference on alternative communication was praised by delegates as one of the best of the conference. They continue to work too on guidelines aiming at more consistent use of alternative communication for those who need it across Russia.

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Kirill can’t stop smiling

Posted on By Sarah.SGF

The first thing you probably noticed about this photo is Kirill’s smile. He loves being with people, but since he left school he had spent most of his time at home with very little company. The reason is that Kirill has autism and learning difficulties and cannot speak. Fortunately, he is able to attend activities at Communication Space, the charity centre in Moscow that we sponsor. Now he starts smiling as soon as he gets on the bus to go to a session at the Centre.

When Kirill was at school, his teachers had tried to introduce him to the PECS symbolic language, but without success. They concluded that he wasn’t able to tell one symbol from another.

At Communication Space he didn’t seem interested in the pictures to start with, but gradually he learned to recognise the symbols for food, games and other activities. If he got upset, his teachers would introduce the symbol for that emotion, and so he increased his vocabulary.

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Autism Acceptance Month

Posted on By Sarah.SGF

April is World Autism Acceptance Month. In the UK we have made a shift from the usual awareness month to an acceptance month, and that is important. Of course autistic people around the world want other people to be aware of autism, but they also want to be accepted as part of the community, and as who they are.

However, in many parts of the world a great deal of work still needs to be done on awareness and the most basic rights for autistic people. In Eastern Europe, autism is still a new diagnosis and support within the community can be very patchy. In Moldova autistic children are often not able to attend school. There is little or no understanding of their needs, so if they do attend they find school very tough. We work with two organisations that are filling the gap, providing therapy and education for children who would otherwise be unsupported. They can also advocate for children with local schools so that they can attend, albeit sometimes part-time or with their mother acting as an unpaid classroom assistant.

In Russia we work with Communication Space to raise awareness of alternative communication methods that can work with non-verbal autistic children and young people. Those who attend their own centre are a wonderful advert for this approach. They are learning to express their wishes, to follow instructions, and to communicate out in the world, in shops and cafes. Online training sessions spread the approach to parents and professionals across the Russian-speaking world. Alongside this practical work, Communication Space also runs counselling sessions for parents. For them, acceptance is the first step towards a more positive outlook on life.

We hope that these small steps towards greater awareness, understanding and support will in time lead to greater acceptance in the communities we work in and beyond.

A window on Communication Space’s work with non-verbal, autistic adults

Posted on By Sarah.SGF

When you come across someone who is non-verbal, their life may seem to be shrouded in mystery, their thoughts and feelings inaccessible. Unless you know someone well who is non-verbal, the chances are that you feel rather daunted by interacting with them. Without help to bridge this gap, people who are unable to speak can become incredibly isolated. Fortunately, techniques do exist for enabling people we once thought could not communicate, to express their wishes, make choices and connect with others. Our colleagues at Communication Space are introducing these techniques to the Russian-speaking world. This beautiful video that they have made gives a fantastic insight into their work.

A note for non-Russian-speakers. Open the video in You Tube, open the settings, select subtitles. Turn subtitles on by selecting Russian. You can then go back into subtitles and select auto translate to get auto-generated English subtitles.

Communication Space helps Ilya

Posted on By Sarah.SGF
Ilya

Iya is 27 years old. Since birth, he has suffered from profound intellectual, visual, and motor impairments. He was also diagnosed with autism. Ilya is one of 20 children and young people who benefit from personalised help at the Communication Space Centre, which assists with their communication and independent living.

Due to his severe impairments, Ilya is unable to use communication books and pictures, relying only on natural gestures and pointing to objects. He fears and avoids unfamiliar public places, which can often lead to epileptic seizures. Ilya lives with his mother, Irina, and needs constant care and support from adults.

Last year the Centre’s specialists helped Ilya to adapt better to new places. He has become particularly good at understanding the difference between a hardware store and a grocery store, and he behaves differently in them. Grocery stores are his favourite! The main positive changes in his communication are related to food—it is during meals that Ilya began to initiate contact more often. At home, he has learned to rely on the daily routine.

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Alternative Communication improves every aspect of life

Posted on By Sarah.SGF

Andrei is 21 and he has Fragile X Syndrome, which affects his learning ability. He has been coming to Communication Space for group and individual sessions for more than ten years.

Alternative Communication is helping him in so many areas of his life. He uses the centre’s visual timetable and timers to understand what is going on through the day, which helps him stay calm.

He continues to make progress with his communication book. He can put together simple phrases and knows around 300 symbols. He can ask for help or ask for a break if an activity is getting too much. He has even started keep fit exercises using visual prompts. Now Andrei is working on the skills he will need to start using a tablet to communicate.

Communication Space write on their website:

People think that it’s all good here. And it really is good. But it didn’t happen by accident. It is the result of our accumulated experience and constant effort, which we put into creating a welcoming space, building a good team, putting together our programme, establishing our relationship with families. It’s good here because we don’t rely on formal interactions where the teaching task or organisational task is the most important, but on humanity.

What is for sure is that without the ability to communicate, it would all fall apart. Finding ways to communicate with those who can’t use speech is the key.

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Alternative Communication helps Vladik

Posted on By Sarah.SGF
Vladik uses Alternative Communication

The world can be a confusing and frightening place for Vladik, aged 5. Sudden movements or sounds can scare him. Vladik has moderate learning difficulties, restricted mobility and delayed speech. Fortunately, our partners Communication Space in Moscow, have been supporting Vladik for more than a year. He is extraordinarily lucky to have such skilled, patient and compassionate people working with him. They are able to spot all the small things that Vladik can do, and have the knowledge and experience to be able to build on this.

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Christmas appeal: help Gleb communicate

Posted on By Sarah.SGF

We all take being able to communicate for granted, but just imagine if, aged just 15, you had had to face spending the rest of your life virtually house-bound and unable to communicate with anyone.  This is the future for many disabled people like Gleb in Russia today without our help.  This is why we are launching our Christmas appeal to bring them the chance to communicate.

Our Alternative Technology programme is about finding different ways to communicate for disabled young people who can’t speak and may never speak.  It is about opening up the world and giving them the possibility of making friends.  And it works!

Gleb and his mother ZhannaGleb is 19 and an only child. He does not speak because of a rare genetic syndrome, which affected his development from the first months of his life. He needs to be accompanied and helped in his daily life. Gleb is a sociable and determined young man and he is happiest when he is busy. But he can only communicate by a gesture or a sound so communication is critical for his development, making new friends and exploring the outside world.  Unfortunately there are simply no other facilities in Moscow which can offer disabled young people a chance to be active in the community and give them a different perspective on life.

Zhanna is totally focussed on helping and encouraging her son.  Since he was 10, Gleb has been attending sessions at “Communication Space”, our partner charity in Moscow. Since the start of our Alternative Technology programme last year Gleb also began using special books and software which help even more to express himself through signs, symbols and gestures and he is making big progress.

Zhanna says: Alternative communication is the most important aspect of Gleb’s and my lives today. Last week Gleb managed to explain with his communicative book that he played compunter games with someone who wasn’t familiar with alternative communication. That’s great and this means it works! So all my efforts are not in vain. And of course the specialists’ efforts – we could not do it without them.”

Help Gleb communicate

Find out more about how our partners help Gleb and others like him in this short video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmxTFr4kb7Q&t=29s