Meaningful communication: Advocating for young people with disabilities

Join us for two engaging online workshops designed to support advocates working with young people with disabilities, learning difficulties, or additional communication needs.

Led by Emma Robinson, Coram Voice’s specialist advocate for children and young people with disabilities, this training will explore how professionals can communicate meaningfully and effectively with young people who may need additional support to express their wishes and feelings.

Event details:

Session 1: Thursday 16 October, 14:00 - 16:00

Session 2: Thursday, 23 October, 14:00–16:00

Participants must attend both sessions.

Who should attend:

This training is suitable for advocates working with a diverse range of young people, including those with learning difficulties and communication needs.

Please note: This is not non-instructed advocacy training — which is covered in a separate course.

What you'll learn:

At Coram Voice we know that all young people have a right to be consulted on decisions being made about their lives. However, some young people with disabilities will need additional support and adjustments, in order to fully understand these decisions and communicate their wishes and feelings.

This training will provide an opportunity to reflect on the challenges for professionals of communicating meaningfully with young people who have disabilities, learning difficulties or additional communication needs, and the role of an advocate in supporting this communication.

There will be space for participants to think about adapting their own language or communication style to meet the needs of different young people.

We will also explore some of the tools that could be used to elicit wishes and feelings from young people with disabilities, as well as good practice in creating wishes and feelings reports on their behalf.

There will be various interactive small group activities throughout the workshops, such as case studies, games and role plays: so be ready to try out your skills in practice!

Pre-session preparation:

To get the most out of the training, participants must complete one hour of pre-reading and activities before each session. Resources will be sent in advance.

Please do not register if you’re unable to commit to this preparation.