I started to talk to him about his family and when I mentioned his brother his facial expression changed and he looked really interested and engaged in what I was saying. I realised that he wanted to talk about his brother and so I talked with him about his brother using digital photos to back up my speech. Rather than speech he uses different ways to communicate, mainly using facial expressions and happy and unhappy vocal tones.
I could tell he really enjoyed our interaction and after about 10 minutes I said that I needed to go and give some help to another staff member. I thanked him for his chat and he had a beaming smile and gave me a kiss on the cheek which was totally initiated by him.
His smile was priceless.
And me? Well I felt great too.
Sara Fairbrother
Senior Support Worker
Abbey House