In short: open communication is making space for the person's voice: ask, then wait, and make sure they were actually understood. If you are not confident they followed something that matters, that is a stop rather than a proceed.
Open Communication means
Make space for the person's voice and choice, don't take over, pressure, or assume.
What it looks like on shift
- You ask, then wait. The waiting is the skill.
- Somebody uses a communication device and you give them the time it takes rather than guessing ahead of them.
- You offer two real options rather than one option and a formality.
What it looks like when it slips
- Finishing somebody's sentence because you are fairly sure you know the end of it.
- Asking a question while already doing the thing.
- Reading a long silence as no answer when it is a slow one.
Being understood is not an extra
If English is not somebody's first language, a professional interpreter is not a nicety you get to when there is time. Family members should not be interpreting anything sensitive, and children should not be interpreting at all. Not about health, not about money, not about a complaint. Booking one is a normal part of the job, not a fuss.
And a person's communication device is their voice. It needs to be with them, charged, and within reach. A device flat on the bench or in a cupboard is somebody being kept quiet, whatever anybody intended by it. Checking it at the start of a shift takes about a minute.
Three things to try on your next shift
- Count to ten in your head after you ask something. It will feel far too long. It usually is not.
- Notice how many of your questions have only one comfortable answer, and rewrite one of them.
- For one task this shift, ask how they want it done rather than checking whether your way is alright.
When to stop rather than push on
If something is being decided that genuinely matters to the person, and you are not confident they followed it, that is a stop rather than a proceed. Get the interpreter, get the device, get the person who knows them best, or get it moved to another day. A decision somebody did not understand is not their decision, and writing that they agreed does not make it one.
Where this is covered properly
Supporting Someone Who Communicates Without Speech covers communication devices and boards, reading a person's own signals, and the practical side of making sure somebody is actually heard.
Common questions about open communication
What does open communication look like on a support shift?
You ask, and then you wait. The waiting is the skill. It also means offering two real options rather than one option and a formality, and giving somebody who uses a communication device the time it takes rather than guessing ahead of them.
How does taking over creep in?
Kindly, quickly, and while trying to help, which is exactly what makes it hard to notice. Finishing somebody's sentence, asking a question while already doing the thing, reading a long silence as no answer when it is a slow one.
When should you book an interpreter?
When English is not somebody's first language and something is being discussed that matters. A professional interpreter is a normal part of the job rather than a nicety. Family members should not be interpreting anything sensitive, and children should not be interpreting at all.
What do you do if you are not sure somebody understood?
Stop rather than proceed. Get the interpreter, get the device, get the person who knows them best, or move it to another day. A decision somebody did not understand is not their decision, and writing that they agreed does not make it one.
More in Supports rights, independence & choice:
- Hold the LineKeep the person's rights and choices steady under pressure (family, org, routine, peers).
- Honour the RiskSupport dignity of risk and informed choice even when you'd choose differently.
- Step BackBuild independence, do with, not for; resist over-helping.