A Total Communication Approach Towards Meeting the Communication Needs of People with Learning Disabilities

The promotion of effective communication must include an overall strategy, implemented within a multi-disciplinary framework, and systems for evaluation (Van der Gaag, 1998). The ultimate goal of introducing alternative or augmentative communication the use of non-speech modes to supplement or substitute verbal communication (von Tetzchner & Hygum Jensen, 1996) is to enable the individual to ‘communicate freely in all ordinary communication situations and a range of less ordinary ones’ (Martinsen & von Tetzchner, 1996 p47). This requires consideration of the communication in use by all those involved in the communication exchange and of the wider issues in the communication environment (Bradshaw, 1998). Jones describes the implementation of a total communication strategy across a number of organisations. The Somerset Total Communication project demonstrates the usefulness and potential of the systematic introduction of multimodal communication, using a co-ordinated, multi-agency approach with a local authority or service system.