19002500 4HSK0072-0901-2019 Communicating with children with complex needs Communication is a key element of humanity as it helps people live together and share their ideas subject to how they should progress or even solve disputes. Similarly, communication can be in many forms if the people involved understand what the other person is communicating. The most common way of communication is known to be the verbal one where people use language to converse to one another. However, as nurses some there will be patients that have complex needs that we need to converse with in a manner that will make them feel like part of the entire community. This is entirely related to pediatrics who are specialized in taking care of children regardless of their mental, physical or psychological defects. This essay will, therefore, give a detailed analysis of the best ways to use in an attempt to communicate to children that have been discovered to have complex needs. Makaton is a form of communication that serves as a helper to developing a firm spoken language. It embraces the use of both signs and speech at the same time to help the people with special needs or rather people who may have impaired speech system. It is essential in that is makes sure that the communication is more advanced and detailed since the nurse will make sure that the children with complex needs have knowledge in both sign language and spoken language (Bednarski, 2016). The essence of using sign language is to enhance an easy means of communication for the children who might have problems adjusting to spoken language or maybe have other adverse reasons as to why they are unable to converse in spoken speech like any other children. The medical system and association of pediatrics classify Makaton as an easy way to communicate between, the nurses themselves, the parents, or caregivers of children who have complex needs. For adults, it is easy to use both spoken language and sign language as they have exposure to the two communication means and it will be simple for them to pass it down to the children who are at their young stages of development and growth. Using Makaton has also proven to be a swift mechanism of supporting integration between all children in such a way that children with no complex needs will be able to communicate with children who are well with no difficulties (Drew, 2108). It opens up the very initial life stages of children with complex needs and makes them feel like a part of the children who have no special needs as they will always interact on level ground and nothing will create a line between them whatsoever. People taking care of children with special needs can use sign language systems that mimic the actual language that is being spoken. This makes sure that the children will have an insight into most of the common sign language that is used even by people who have the ability to the spoken language. Similarly, it is of great imp ...

1. 19002500
4HSK0072-0901-2019
Communicating with children with complex needs
Communication is a key element of humanity as it helps people
live together and share their ideas
subject to how they should progress or even solve disputes.
Similarly, communication can be in many
forms if the people involved understand what the other person is
communicating. The most common
way of communication is known to be the verbal one where
people use language to converse to one
another. However, as nurses some there will be patients that
have complex needs that we need to
converse with in a manner that will make them feel like part of
the entire community. This is entirely
related to pediatrics who are specialized in taking care of
children regardless of their mental, physical or
psychological defects. This essay will, therefore, give a detailed
analysis of the best ways to use in an
attempt to communicate to children that have been discovered to
have complex needs.
Makaton is a form of communication that serves as a helper to
developing a firm spoken language. It
embraces the use of both signs and speech at the same time to
help the people with special needs or
rather people who may have impaired speech system. It is
essential in that is makes sure that the
communication is more advanced and detailed since the nurse
will make sure that the children with

2. complex needs have knowledge in both sign language and
spoken language (Bednarski, 2016). The
essence of using sign language is to enhance an easy means of
communication for the children who
might have problems adjusting to spoken language or maybe
have other adverse reasons as to why they
are unable to converse in spoken speech like any other children.
The medical system and association of pediatrics classify
Makaton as an easy way to communicate
between, the nurses themselves, the parents, or caregivers of
children who have complex needs. For
adults, it is easy to use both spoken language and sign language
as they have exposure to the two
communication means and it will be simple for them to pass it
down to the children who are at their
young stages of development and growth. Using Makaton has
also proven to be a swift mechanism of
supporting integration between all children in such a way that
children with no complex needs will be
able to communicate with children who are well with no
difficulties (Drew, 2108). It opens up the very
initial life stages of children with complex needs and makes
them feel like a part of the children who
have no special needs as they will always interact on level
ground and nothing will create a line between
them whatsoever.
People taking care of children with special needs can use sign
language systems that mimic the actual
language that is being spoken. This makes sure that the children
will have an insight into most of the
common sign language that is used even by people who have the
ability to the spoken language.
Similarly, it is of great importance that the caregiver does not
come up with crude signs that are not

3. there as they will end up confusing the children rather than help
them as it is viewed in the first place
(Benton & Johnson 2015). Having a common sign language
technique will make the children as they
grow less vulnerable since they will be able to converse with
other people more comfortable than when
they had no idea on how to integrate with people who have no
complex needs.
Julia Petty
107750000000000204
This is a clear and well-worded introduction although it would
be better to introduce the actual assignment remit=- i.e that the
essay is a patchwork assignment focusing on summaries of four
chosen pieces of literature followed by a reflection on what you
have learnt to apply to your practice.
Julia Petty
107750000000000204
Is this a summary of the Benton and Johnson work? You need to
be clear that your discussions relate to each chosen piece.
Julia Petty
107750000000000204
what do you mean by the medical system? This is a nursing
essay and module
Julia Petty
107750000000000204
2108? typo IN addition, is this your second piece of
literature? How is it similar to the one before? Make links
Julia Petty
107750000000000204
Is this your 1st patch (piece of literature)? You need to make

4. clear what four pieces you have chosen. This is a general
discussion of makaton.
19002500
4HSK0072-0901-2019
2
The pediatric association champions for sign language that is
more motivating to the children rather
than a vast sign language. This is because, besides making the
children with complex needs to converse
with other people, it is also meant to motivate them in a way
that they will not feel as if they have
anything wrong as compared to their fellow children or anybody
that surrounds them. It is the
motivation that will help them have an improved relationship
with anybody at any time as to them, they
will not have the feeling that he is perceived differently as it is
for the case when a child with complex
needs cannot interrelate with the rest (Benton & Johnson 2015).
As the children develop from time to
time and gaining knowledge on spoken language, if at all is
possible, they will have a better future as
they will be conversant with both languages which means that
they will be able to interact with all the
people just like a normal child.
Body language is described as a non-verbal system of
communication. It is composed of aspects such as,
a facial expression which is the most unique non-verbal
communication technique. The face is
considered as the most expressive body part that is used to relay
countless messages or better still
emotions without having to say a single word. So, it will be
easy to detect what the children are feeling

5. based on their facial expression when they are exposed to
certain things (Armstrong et al., 2016).
Secondly, gestures are a part of body language that can be used
to convey messages between the
caregivers, parents or nurses as they interact with children who
have special needs that hinder them
from having a perfect communication means. Also, there is the
use of body movement and postures
that can always be used to relay messages between the children
with complex needs and the people
that take care of them.
In addition, facial expression can be broken down to eye contact
which is a key element as far as body
language is concerned. It helps the children to pay attention to
the matter at hand that is being
discussed at that particular stage. There can be touch and space
which can be used to relate what the
children are trying to communicate depending on how they
interrelate with one another and also their
caregivers. As a child, it will be easy to detect their notions
towards certain things by observing how they
react to things that surround them, either to show content or
rather dislike. From how they react, it will
be able to integrate with them and communicate using non-
verbal techniques and ensure that they feel
like part of the conversation and not as handicapped people
(Roberts, 2106). This will help build their
self-esteem as far as communication is concerned and they will
be eager to learn new communication
skills. It will be the initial step in making sure that they are able
and willing to learn spoken language
with time as they familiarize themselves with that which they
know at the moment.
British sign language is a sign language that has been developed

6. by the British Communication system to
help people with special needs to be able to converse with other
people using signs that are known to
the British people. It is specifically meant for children who
have special needs such as the deaf ones at
their early age so that they grow while knowing how to
communicate to people who have similar
problems or even to normal people. In accomplishing this type
of communication skills education, many
platforms can be used to make sure that the children are ready
and willing to learn from time to time in
order to reach levels of success (Dockrell & Marshall 2015). At
home, BSL should be practiced as often as
possible in order to make sure that the children are exposed to
as many signs over time and make it
Julia Petty
107750000000000204
what is the British communication system?
Julia Petty
107750000000000204
2106? another typo here in the dates you use
Julia Petty
107750000000000204
watch your wording and ensure what you are saying is clear -
here it is not clear and the wording is muddled
Julia Petty
107750000000000204
You do show an understanding of important points relating to
communication but it all needs to be done according to the
assignment remit. You have written a general essay about
communication in children with particular needs.

7. Julia Petty
107750000000000204
what is the paediatric association?
Julia Petty
107750000000000204
Again, clarity in how you write is required
19002500
4HSK0072-0901-2019
3
easy for them to not only use them but also understand them
when other people are using them while
communication to them.
In addition, for the families of such children, they are
encouraged to do the same at all times, that is, use
BSL in order to always familiarize the children with the
language as it will be of great importance in their
life as they grow. The children can be exposed to members of
the deaf society who use these languages
every time and this will be the best learning platform for
children with similar impairments. In school,
the staff members should at least have a mastery of BSL to
make it easy for children with complex needs
to get along easily and cope with the learning environment.
Increasing awareness within the school
premises so that the children with special needs are not left out
as they will be supported throughout
the day (Smith, 2019). As a teacher to children with complex
needs, it is also of great importance if
materials that are used in learning sessions are developed in
manners that make it possible for them to

8. learn even more BSL communication skills.
Using the already discussed literature pieces in educating
children with complex needs, it will be of most
importance to first understand what the children already know.
This will make them feel more
appreciated and will psyche them up to learn even new
techniques that they had no idea about. By
doing so, it will be a successive learning experience when one
accepts the signs that the children are
using even though they might be not known to the other people.
After this, modeling the child's notion
to fit a new technique which in this time is the right one should
be a gradual process that is repeated
from time to time to enable the kid to catch up eventually and
use the correct communication skills.
Allowing the children to interact with one another as they use
what they have learned after a day’s work
is also essential as it will help them acquaint with the signs and
make them better off as they grow.
In addition, it will be easy to use the BSL since it is acceptable
in all the regions within Britain, a factor
that will imply that children with complex needs will not be
perceived as impaired subject to speech or
rather conversation. Learning to always appreciate what the
children with special needs have and
offering to teach them what they may have not been exposed to
so that it will be easy and swift for
them in case they have to adjust to something different. Starting
the communication schemes to teach
the children, their parents or caregivers as early as possible so
that the children will grasp important
concepts that they will use as they grow up, whether it is a
mixture of verbal and signs or body language
and signs entirely.

9. In conclusion, communicating with children with complex needs
it a vast entity that needs to be taken
care of during the initial stages of the life of the children. This
will make it possible for them to
familiarize with the best skill that fits them subject to their
special need. Knowing the child’s weaknesses
and strengths will be a clear means to make sure that they have
the best communication medium that
will be friendly and easy for them to use as they intermingle
with other people of either their kind or
normal people. It sets a standard of livelihood for the children
as they will be considered as part of the
society and they will have the ability to pass their ideas out.
Julia Petty
107750000000000204
There is no reflection - refer back to the assignment task. You
need to reflect on 4 pieces of literature in relation to how you
will apply them to your nursing practice.
Julia Petty
107750000000000204
These 3 paragraphs on this page anre not supported with any
references- you should support your work with literature as
much as you can so that large parts are not left un-referenced.
Julia Petty
107750000000000204
interesting points made here showing a thorough understanding
of BSL
Julia Petty
107750000000000204
Important points made but it is not clear which piece of

10. literature this now refers to? You have not followed the
assignment task.
19002500
4HSK0072-0901-2019
4
References
Armstrong, F., Armstrong, D., & Barton, L. (2016). Inclusive
education: Policy, contexts, and
comparative perspectives. Routledge.
Bednarski, M. (2016). The Exploring of Implementing Makaton
in Multi-Sensory Storytelling
for Children with Physical and Intellectual Disabilities Aged
Between 5 and 10. World
Scientific News, 47(1), 1-61.
Benton, L., & Johnson, H. (2015). Widening participation in
technology design: A review of the
involvement of children with special educational needs and
disabilities. International
Journal of Child-Computer Interaction, 3, 23-40.
Dockrell, J. E., & Marshall, C. R. (2015). Measurement issues:
assessing language skills in young
children. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 20(2), 116-125.

11. Drew, S. (2018). Let’s talk Makaton. Dental Nursing, 14(11),
530-530.
Roberts, J. (2016). Language teacher education. Routl edge.
Smith, C. (2019, January 16). How Can You Support Children
Learning British Sign Language?
Retrieved May 26, 2020, from Special Educational Needs
Resources Blog website:
https://senresourcesblog.com/2019/01/16/how-can-you-support-
children-learning-
british- sign-language/
https://senresourcesblog.com/2019/01/16/how-can-you-support-
children-learning-british-%09sign-language/
https://senresourcesblog.com/2019/01/16/how-can-you-support-
children-learning-british-%09sign-language/
Julia Petty
107750000000000204
missing place of publisher - refer to the UH citation guide on
Canvas site
Julia Petty
107750000000000204
italics needed for journal titles
Julia Petty
107750000000000204
just url needed here

12. Julia Petty
107750000000000204
Some good standard, recent sources of literature are used - from
journals, which is good- keep this up
Julia Petty
107750000000000204
place of publishing?
Julia Petty
107750000000000204
year only
19002500
4HSK0072-0901-2019
19002500
4HSK0072-0901-2019
8
Communicating with children with complex needs
Communication is a key element of humanity as it helps people
live together and share their ideas subject to how they should
progress or even solve disputes. Similarly, communication can
be in many forms if the people involved understand what the
other person is communicating. The most common way of
communication is known to be the verbal one where people use
language to converse to one another. However, as nurses some
there will be patients that have complex needs that we need to
converse with in a manner that will make them feel like part of
the entire community. This is entirely related to pediatrics who
are specialised in taking care of children regardless of their
mental, physical or psychological defects. This essay is a
patchwork assignment where I will be focusing on summarising
four pieces of literature and reflecting on what I have learnt and

13. will apply to future practice.
Makaton is a form of communication that serves as a helper to
developing a firm spoken language. It embraces the use of both
signs and speech at the same time to help the people with
special needs or rather people who may have impaired speech
system. It is essential in that is makes sure that the
communication is more advanced and detailed since the nurse
will make sure that the children with complex needs have
knowledge in both sign language and spoken language
(Bednarski, 2016). The essence of using sign language is to
enhance an easy means of communication for the children who
might have problems adjusting to spoken language or maybe
have other adverse reasons as to why they are unable to
converse in spoken speech like any other children.
The medical system and association of pediatrics classify
Makaton as an easy way to communicate between, the nurses
themselves, the parents, or caregivers of children who have
complex needs. For adults, it is easy to use both spoken
language and sign language as they have exposure to the two
communication means and it will be simple for them to pass it
down to the children who are at their young stages of
development and growth. Using Makaton has also proven to be
a swift mechanism of supporting integration between all
children in such a way that children with no complex needs will
be able to communicate with children who are well with no
difficulties (Drew, 2108). It opens up the very initial life stages
of children with complex needs and makes them feel like a part
of the children who have no special needs as they will always
interact on level ground and nothing will create a line between
them whatsoever.
People taking care of children with special needs can use sign
language systems that mimic the actual language that is being
spoken. This makes sure that the children will have an insight
into most of the common sign language that is used even by
people who have the ability to the spoken language. Similarly,
it is of great importance that the caregiver does not come up

14. with crude signs that are not there as they will end up confusing
the children rather than help them as it is viewed in the first
place (Benton & Johnson 2015). Having a common sign
language technique will make the children as they grow less
vulnerable since they will be able to converse with other people
more comfortable than when they had no idea on how to
integrate with people who have no complex needs.
The pediatric association champions for sign language that is
more motivating to the children rather than a vast sign
language. This is because, besides making the children with
complex needs to converse with other people, it is also meant to
motivate them in a way that they will not feel as if they have
anything wrong as compared to their fellow children or anybody
that surrounds them. It is the motivation that will help them
have an improved relationship with anybody at any time as to
them, they will not have the feeling that he is perceived
differently as it is for the case when a child with complex needs
cannot interrelate with the rest (Benton & Johnson 2015). As
the children develop from time to time and gaining knowledge
on spoken language, if at all is possible, they will have a better
future as they will be conversant with both languages which
means that they will be able to interact with all the people just
like a normal child.
Body language is described as a non-verbal system of
communication. It is composed of aspects such as, a facial
expression which is the most unique non-verbal communication
technique. The face is considered as the most expressive body
part that is used to relay countless messages or better still
emotions without having to say a single word. So, it will be
easy to detect what the children are feeling based on their facial
expression when they are exposed to certain things (Armstrong
et al., 2016). Secondly, gestures are a part of body language
that can be used to convey messages between the caregivers,
parents or nurses as they interact with children who have
special needs that hinder them from having a perfect
communication means. Also, there is the use of body movement

15. and postures that can always be used to relay messages between
the children with complex needs and the people that take care of
them.
In addition, facial expression can be broken down to eye contact
which is a key element as far as body language is concerned. It
helps the children to pay attention to the matter at hand that is
being discussed at that particular stage. There can be touch and
space which can be used to relate what the children are trying to
communicate depending on how they interrelate with one
another and also their caregivers. As a child, it will be easy to
detect their notions towards certain things by observing how
they react to things that surround them, either to show content
or rather dislike. From how they react, it will be able to
integrate with them and communicate using non-verbal
techniques and ensure that they feel like part of the
conversation and not as handicapped people (Roberts, 2106).
This will help build their self-esteem as far as communication is
concerned and they will be eager to learn new communication
skills. It will be the initial step in making sure that they are able
and willing to learn spoken language with time as they
familiarize themselves with that which they know at the
moment.
British sign language is a sign language that has been developed
by the British Communication system to help people with
special needs to be able to converse with other people using
signs that are known to the British people. It is specifically
meant for children who have special needs such as the deaf ones
at their early age so that they grow while knowing how to
communicate to people who have similar problems or even to
normal people. In accomplishing this type of communication
skills education, many platforms can be used to make sure that
the children are ready and willing to learn from time to time in
order to reach levels of success (Dockrell & Marshall 2015). At
home, BSL should be practiced as often as possible in order to
make sure that the children are exposed to as many signs over
time and make it easy for them to not only use them but also

16. understand them when other people are using them while
communication to them.
In addition, for the families of such children, they are
encouraged to do the same at all times, that is, use BSL in order
to always familiarize the children with the language as it will be
of great importance in their life as they grow. The children can
be exposed to members of the deaf society who use these
languages every time and this will be the best learning platform
for children with similar impairments. In school, the staff
members should at least have a mastery of BSL to make it easy
for children with complex needs to get along easily and cope
with the learning environment. Increasing awareness within the
school premises so that the children with special needs are not
left out as they will be supported throughout the day (Smith,
2019). As a teacher to children with complex needs, it is also of
great importance if materials that are used in learning sessions
are developed in manners that make it possible for them to learn
even more BSL communication skills.
Using the already discussed literature pieces in educating
children with complex needs, it will be of most importance to
first understand what the children already know. This will make
them feel more appreciated and will psyche them up to learn
even new techniques that they had no idea about. By doing so, it
will be a successive learning experience when one accepts the
signs that the children are using even though they might be not
known to the other people. After this, modeling the child's
notion to fit a new technique which in this time is the right one
should be a gradual process that is repeated from time to time to
enable the kid to catch up eventually and use the correct
communication skills. Allowing the children to interact with
one another as they use what they have learned after a day’s
work is also essential as it will help them acquaint with the
signs and make them better off as they grow.
In addition, it will be easy to use the BSL since it is acceptable
in all the regions within Britain, a factor that will imply that
children with complex needs will not be perceived as impaired

17. subject to speech or rather conversation. Learning to always
appreciate what the children with special needs have and
offering to teach them what they may have not been exposed to
so that it will be easy and swift for them in case they have to
adjust to something different. Starting the communication
schemes to teach the children, their parents or caregivers as
early as possible so that the children will grasp important
concepts that they will use as they grow up, whether it is a
mixture of verbal and signs or body language and signs entirely.
In conclusion, communicating with children with complex needs
it a vast entity that needs to be taken care of during the initial
stages of the life of the children. This will make it possible for
them to familiarize with the best skill that fits them subject to
their special need. Knowing the child’s weaknesses and
strengths will be a clear means to make sure that they have the
best communication medium that will be friendly and easy for
them to use as they intermingle with other people of either their
kind or normal people. It sets a standard of livelihood for the
children as they will be considered as part of the society and
they will have the ability to pass their ideas out.
References
Armstrong, F., Armstrong, D., & Barton, L. (2016). Inclusive
education: Policy, contexts, and comparative perspectives.
Routledge.
Bednarski, M. (2016). The Exploring of Implementing Makaton
in Multi-Sensory Storytelling for Children with Physical and
Intellectual Disabilities Aged Between 5 and 10. World
Scientific News, 47(1), 1-61.
Benton, L., & Johnson, H. (2015). Widening participation in
technology design: A review of the involvement of children
with special educational needs and disabilities. International
Journal of Child-Computer Interaction, 3, 23-40.
Dockrell, J. E., & Marshall, C. R. (2015). Measurement issues:
assessing language skills in young children. Child and
Adolescent Mental Health, 20(2), 116-125.

18. Drew, S. (2018). Let’s talk Makaton. Dental Nursing, 14(11),
530-530.
Roberts, J. (2016). Language teacher education. Routledge.
Smith, C. (2019, January 16). How Can You Support Children
Learning British Sign Language? Retrieved May 26, 2020,
from Special Educational Needs Resources Blog website:
https://senresourcesblog.com/2019/01/16/how-can-you-
support-children-learning-british- sign-language/