Reflections on Communication

Getting boxes of Communication Cards and PECS ready for the show at the NEC

I have been spending the last few weeks preparing for the OT show and I am so excited that the show is almost here! For those of you who don’t know the OT show at the NEC is an exhibition where people can showcase their sensory and disability aids to lots of occupational therapists and others who work in the disability sector. I have recently been popping into some local schools to talk with members of senior staff about the importance of alternative communication and it has been so rewarding to meet so many heads and students really excited about broadening how they communicate with their neurodivergent students.

A memorable moment from one of the schools I visited was when one of the autistic students we were trialling my school communication packs with shouted gleefully, ‘this card, this is me!’ I felt such happiness when I heard that young boy shout that and I couldn’t help smiling along with him. This shows how important it is to be heard and how important it is to meet others who communicate like you.

I can’t imagine how different my school and life experience would have been if I hadn’t been forced by teachers to talk in school settings. The anxiety that caused and many sleepless nights, the constant shaking of my body and the rushed trips to calm down in the bathroom- all of that - or at least some of it- might have been made simpler just by having a card that said something as simple as ‘I can’t talk right now.’

To see that young student feel understood and see the joyous relief on his face made my heart feel full. All forms of communication are beautiful, because to communicate whether that be with words, pictures, signs or symbols is to share. Communication to me is sharing, it’s giving a part of yourself vulnerably or sometimes boldly for another person to hold and rest with for a while.