You may have noticed our "Getting Started Packages". We would like to talk about these in more detail on our Blog and Instagram page.
Firstly... what is a communication passport?
A communication passport is a person-centred approach that assists a person's team in describing the way that they are currently communicating. This helps people around that person become better at understanding them.
The passport may contain information such as their medical history, important people, communication strategies and essential information about mealtimes. This information can be collected from families, teachers, carers or even other allied health workers.
The passport is strengths-based. For example, if the passport was describing a child's behaviour e.g. hitting, it might talk about body clues to watch out for before the child becomes upset or things that might cause them to become upset (triggers).
The communication passport might have pictures or information about the communication strategies that are being used e.g. specific key word signs or information about their communication device/boards.
It's important to note that the communication passport belongs to the person- not the team. It should always be read with them and they should have access to it wherever they go.
It may be useful to have a communication passport during the following transitions:
- When starting somewhere new ( e.g. respite, school, daycare)
- Hospital stays (particularly useful for medical staff!)
- When you have a new team member e.g. a change in therapist
It is recommended that the passport be updated regularly to ensure that the information included accurately reflects what is going on in the person's life.
Please see example images of a communication passport below.
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