Contact
Lucy Westcott, Total Communication Officer
Community Learning Disability Team
86 Denmark Villas, Hove, BN3 3TY
Tel. 01273 295121
Fax. 01271 295135
lucy.westcott@sussexpartnership.nhs.uk
(note: Lucy's working days are Thursdays & Fridays)
Most documents on this website are in PDF format. You can view and print PDF files with free Adobe Reader software.
Useful Documents
- A-Z of alternative words
- Accessible Information Guidelines from Devon's Partnership Board
- Basic guidelines for people who commission easy read info from the Valuing People Support Team
- Communication Bill of Rights
- Communication passport is a document you can print and fill in (or use this Communication passport word version that can be completed on the computer). You can use the A5 sized template if you prefer.
- How to Use Easy Words and Pictures from the Disability Rights Commission gives good advice about accessible writing.
- How to make events accessible - Guidelines from the Social Care Institute for Excellence , June 2005
- How to make information accessible - Guidelines from the Social Care Institute for Excellence , June 2005
- How to Make Information Accessible guide produced by CHANGE in partnership with the National Equality Partnership
- Intensive Interaction newsletter
- Make It Clear Easy Read Guide - Mencap's guide to making information easy to read and understand
- Making written information easier to understand for people with learning disabilities - Department of Health Guidance for people who commission or produce Easy Read information – Revised Edition 2010
- Total Communication Minibook
- Total Communication Standards
Information to be used on Trains from Southern Railways
Southern Easy Read travel information booklet - All about how to book assistance at the station and throughout the journey, how to get help, what Southern policies are and information about accessibilty.
Communication Guide - An A4 sheet that is held at the station to aid communication. It has pictures on it that people can point, such as toilets, lifts. It can also be printed from the website and carried by passengers if they would like to confidence to know they have it with them and can use it at any time.
Travel Support Card - A small foldingt card on which an individual or support worker/carer can write informaiton to support passenfers journey, such as destination, communication difficulties, emergency contacts, health issues, special instructions etc.
'Ten Top Tips for Travelling by Train' listed on www.bigbridgewestsussex.org. As part of this Southern Railways have worked with The Big Bridge to produce a handy guide to Top Tips when travelling by train. This can be viewed on www.southern railway.com/easyread.
Previous Advisory Group Meeting Notes and Papers
- TCA Group Sept 2010
- TCA Group June 2010
- TCA group Feb 2010
- TCA group Dec 2009
- TCA group Sept 2009
- TCA Group June 2009
- Terms of Reference - May 2009
Please note this meeting is now The Total Communication Group Workshop.
This is held every 2 months and showcases different communication issue of resource.
Look out for the latest information under ' Total Communication Project News'
Total Communication
On This Page:
- What is Total Communication?
- Total Communication Project News
- We had a Total Communication Launch Day
- Total Communication Advisory Group Workshops
- Total Communication Champions
- Kick Start Event in East Sussex
- Useful Websites, Services and Resources
What is Total Communication? |
Total Communication is the term used to describe the use of pictures,objects,signs,gestures and spoken word to enable people to express themselves and understand what is being said. It is evidence based and has many methods in addition to easy read/accessible communication, which only targets people with a mild/moderate Learning Disability. The majority of people with a learning Disability in Brighton and Hove require additional communication supports in the form of Total Communication approaches.
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Total Communication Project News 2012 |
Total Communication Update January 2012 Happy New Year everyone! Here's what's been going on over the last few months at the Total Communication Project and what's to come in 2012... TC Advisory Group Workshops The last 2 were a much requested re-run of the popular Makaton taster session with Peter Craske from the Workforce Development Team in September; and a talk about Social Stories by Tom Evans from Southdown Housing Association in November, which was a great success and sparked lots of enthusiasm and ideas. The next two workshops are:
These workshops are about different communciation resources or issues - for example we've had workshops about Social Stories, Graphic Recording, Talking Mats, Intensive Interaction, Communication Passports and Makaton. These are for anyone who works with carers for, or supports people with a learning disablitiy is welcome. Our first workshop of 2012 in February will be a talk about Total Communication with a showing of East Sussex’s excellent TC film; we’ll also be planning for the coming year and taking a vote on what workshops we want to have, so it’s a ‘must attend’ event! Please do email me your suggestions for total communication ideas or resources you'd like to learn more about in these sessions lucy.westcott@sussexpartnership.nhs.uk We now have 18 Communication Champions across Brighton & Hove implementing Total Communication in their services! Services signed up to the TC Charter are:
Progress is reviewed through the nominated Communication Champions at bi-monthly Charter Review meetings. This year we're going to start awarding certificates for achievement of the Charter Standards so these meetings will be hotting up! The next two TC Charter Review meetings are:
If you'd like to know more about the Total Communication Charter, contact Lucy Westcott, TC Project Officer, lucy.westcott@sussexpartnership.nhs.uk
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Total Communication Project News 2011 and 2010 |
TC Charter News 11 August 2011: TC Advisory Group Workshops are workshops about different communication resources that are held every 2 months NEXT WORKSHOP - put this in your diary - Introduction to Makaton on 9 March 2011: Future meeting changes: The hour long TC Advisory Group meetings held every two months will now be given over completely to the workshop – events planning will be done separately when needed and the TC Charter Review meetings every 2/3 months will be the main support for Communication Champions. 31 January 2011: Calling Communication Champions!!!! Don’t forget the TC Charter Review meeting – Thursday 24 February at 3pm at 86 Denmark Villas, Hove– Communication Champions remember to put together your TC monitoring sheets and bring photos or other evidence to show us how your service has been doing with the Total Communication approach Marker pens at the ready! The next Total Communication Advisory Group meeting is on Tuesday 9 March at the Avondale Centre – the workshop will be about Graphic Recording – come along and find out how big paper & coloured markers can help break the communication barrier… Check your inbox for email reminders for both these meetings! 27 January 2011: Intensive Interaction: At the last TC Advisory Group meeting on 27 January Diane Skudder from the Behaviour Support Team came to talk about Intensive Interaction (II) which is an approach that can be used with people who have complex communication needs. It was a really interesting presentation and watching clips of II in action was uplifting and moving. We will be posting more information about Intensive Interaction training courses and support group meetings locally very soon but in the meantime please click on this link to find out more TC Charter Scheme - what’s it all about? Have a look at the new document What is the Total Communication Charter – if you have any questions or want your service to sign up please contact Lucy Westcott at lucy.westcott@sussexpartnership.nhs.uk TC Charter News – LOOK! We’ve added the Total Communication Standards and the Communication Bill of Rights documents here – this is what the services who signed up to the TC Charter Pilot are using to improve communication – we want lots more services to sign up to the Charter from February 2011 – keep an eye out here for more information about how to do this or contact Lucy. 30th November 2010: Spreading the word! In October the Speech & Language Therapy Team ran a Total Communication Workshop for staff at the Person Centred Approaches Learning forum – we had excellent feedback from the people who came. TC Event 2011 – HOORAY! The Total Communication Project has been given funding for another Total Communication event in Spring next year – we’re in the very early planning stages right now so watch this space for more information… TC Charter Scheme - we don’t need wings! From February 2011 the Total Communication Charter Scheme is no longer a pilot – it’s flying free! We want as many services as possible to sign up to the scheme and pledge to improve Total Communication for their service users – keep an eye out here to find out what it’s all about… Total Communication Advisory Group meetings – CHANGES Total Communication Charter Pilot Scheme meetings - calling all Communication Champions! The next Charter Pilot Review Meeting is on Monday 24 January 2011 at 3pm – it will be at 86 Denmark Villas – we are looking forward to seeing you there and hearing how your service is doing putting Total Communication into action!
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We had a Total Communication Launch Day |
It’s good to communicate… Nearly 200 people attended the Total Communication launch day at Hove Town Hall on April 27 to find out about different communication resources – from Communication Passports and Talking Mats to Intensive Interaction and Assistive Technology. Visitors loved the Makaton signing and Social Story workshops, and enjoyed making peppermint foot cream, fruit smoothies and ‘All About Me’ collages. There were also films from Oskabright and tasty treats served up by Feast, a catering company run by people with learning disabilities based at Buckingham Road day centre. Many services and providers signed up to the Total Communication Charter Pilot, a set of ten standards to help carers and staff make sure they are using and continue to use the most relevant and effective ways of supporting communication. Look out for a booklet about the day coming soon that you will be able download on this website! For more information about the Total Communication Project and the Total Communication Advisory Group contact the Total Communication Project Officer on 01273 295121 or email lucy.westcott@brighton-hove.gov.uk
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Total Communication Advisory Group Workshops 2011 and 2010 |
NEXT WORKSHOPS: Introduction to Makaton on Thursday 29 September 2011 at the Avondale Centre 3.25-5pm - come and learn some basic signs and have fun trying them out! How to facilitate a Social Story (Tom Evans) - Thursday 24 November 2011 - 3.25pm - Avondale Centre - NB this has yet to be confirmed TC Workshops update: * The TC Advisory Group workshop on 5 July 2011 was about Objects We worked in groups with specific clients in mind, filling out a work * The TC Advisory Group workshop on 10 May 2011 was about Visual * The March TC meeting was about using graphics to communicate – Lucy Westcott from the Community Learning Disability Team talked about Graphic Recording, Graphic Facilitation and Graphic Coaching. Everyone got busy with big paper and coloured marker pens and discovered hidden talents! Staff had lots of good ideas about how they could use graphics to support people in their services. If you’d like information about Graphicking please email lucy.westcott@sussexpartnership.nhs.uk |
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Total Communication Champions |
Click on this link for more about the Total Communication Charter: What is the Total Communication Charter If you'd like to know more about the Total Communication Charter, or if you'd like to know more about either meeting contact Lucy Westcott, TC Project Officer, lucy.westcott@sussexpartnership.nhs.uk Anyone interested in promoting total communication is welcome to come to our meetings. |
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Useful Websites, Services and Resources |
Useful Websites
Services & Resources
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this page was last updated on: 13 January 2012