Intellectual Disabilities

Causes of Intellectual Disabilities (ID):

  • Genetic Conditions
  • Pregnancy Problems – drinking alcohol, smoking, malnutrition etc
  • Birth Problems – any stress to the baby’s brain during birth
  • Problems at young age – diseases, trauma, toxins etc
  • Poverty & Cultural Deprivation

Common beliefs about individuals with ID:

  • Cannot learn
  • Cannot feel depressed or lonely
  • Have no hopes/ dreams
  • Cannot contribute

Mild (IQ 50-70) – Moderate (IQ 35 – 49) – Severe (IQ 20-34) – Profound (IQ below 19)

Communication Tips:

  • Ensure you have the person’s attention
  • When unsure of ability to understand, ask for demonstration/ explanation
  • Simple, concrete and short sentences
  • Respectful tone and volume

ASD

A person represented with a ‘triad’ of clinical characteristics in the following areas (referencing the criteria in DSM-IV-TR):

  • Social Impairment (Social Interaction)
  • Communication Impairment (Social Communication)
  • Impairment In Flexibility Of Thinking (Flexibility & Imagination)

Communication Tips:

  • Ensure you have the person’s attention while leaving them in their comfortable boundaries
  • When unsure of ability to understand, ask for demonstration/ explanation
  • Simple, concrete and short sentences
  • Respectful tone and volume
  • Set specific timeframe to start or end any activity
  • Cue cards to assist them in experiencing their thoughts and emotions

ADHD

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), is a behavioral condition that makes focusing on everyday requests and routines challenging.

Typical behaviours include:

  • Are in constant motion
  • Squirm and fidget
  • Make careless mistakes
  • Often lose things
  • Do not seem to listen
  • Are easily distracted
  • Do not finish tasks

Communication Tips:

  • Ensure you have the person’s attention
  • When unsure of ability to understand, ask for demonstration/ explanation
  • Simple, concrete and short sentences
  • Respectful tone and volume
  • Set specific timeframe to start or end any activity

Hearing Impaired

Every deaf and hard-of-hearing person’s degree of hearing loss is unique. These are the general board bands of hearing loss and the extent to which sounds can be heard by those classified as such.

Mild Hearing Loss: Unable to hear soft sounds. Understanding speech may be difficult in a noisy environment.

Moderate Hearing Loss: Unable to hear soft and moderately loud sounds. Understanding speech may be difficult in a noisy environment.

Severe Hearing Loss: Unable to hear people speaking at a normal conversational level. Even loud speech is difficult to hear or understand.

Profound Hearing Loss: Only able to hear very loud sounds. Most sounds are difficult to hear or distinguish

Communication Tips:

  • Tap their shoulders for their attention
  • Some of them can hold conversation by speaking and lip-reading

Additional aid:

  • Installation of evacuating system via lights in work premises to attract their attention in the event of emergency