It is estimated that about 7 million Americans have problems when it comes to using their voices. When caring for a person who can no longer speak in senior living in Odessa, FL, many things must be kept in mind. The first is to understand that the fact they can’t speak means they may be overtly reliant on other forms of expression, such as non-verbal communication. So one of the most important things to do when communicating with a person who cannot speak is to keep an eye on all the nonverbal communication. Watch out for facial expressions, stance, the position of the arms, and so on.
Non-Verbal Cues
It is said that most of our communication is non-verbal. For this reason, you can glean a lot from an individual based on their non-verbal cues. For example, a resident who listens to his or her caregiver with their arms crossed across their chest may signal that they are being defensive, which often means that they don’t like what they are being told. Our caregivers are trained to watch out for such cues, and this makes it easy for them to understand and choose how to express themselves to our residents who cannot speak.
Touch
Touch is a universal sign of communication and can be used to convey a myriad of expressions. For example, using touch, one can convey feelings of sincerity, empathy and to some extent even hostility. Given how sensitive touch is, it is important to ensure that you have the consent of the person you are communicating with before you actually execute the touch. For example, some people don’t like to be hugged and often find hugging awkwardly. For such an individual, it makes sense to get their consent first before hugging them.
The other thing to keep in mind when using this medium of communication is to be sensitive to non-verbal language. If you notice that the other person stiffens when you hug them or pull away, it is a sign that they aren’t comfortable hugging or touching you, regardless f whether they may have given consent or not. Remember that many people consider it rude to refuse a friendly hug and so they may give consent even when they don’t actually want it.
Hearing
if the person you are talking to can hear but not speak, there could be instances in which you rely on hearing as a way of communicating. This means talking to them, even if they may not be able to reply effectively or even give any replies. While this may feel awkward, talking to them and relying on their sense of hearing is a great way to communicate, especially if you are telling a story. For this to work, however, there must be a high level of trust between the two of you. This is because the person you are speaking to may also feel awkward if he or she is unable to reply. With a high level of trust, however, this problem does not exist. For this reason, do not use this technique a lot if you have just met a person, rather rely on other ways of communication until a certain level of trust is established.
