Language

I was recently reading a couple of blogs from Rewriting Social Care and found that it got me thinking about the use of language and whether this has improved over time.

One word that is used often when referring to people who require support is the world vulnerable. What does that even mean? There are a lot of different ways of thinking about this word. Does it mean at risk, does it mean open emotionally, does it mean uneducated or lacking in skills. I don't know about you but I have definitely felt vulnerable in my life but I do not require Social Care support. The two things are not mutually exclusive but they seem to be intrinsically linked.

I have felt vulnerable physically when having my daughter because you are in effect in a room full of strangers, not wearing very much, in pain and for me experiencing something I had never done before. Not only was I open emotionally, I was at risk physically and I did not really know what I was doing. I have felt emotionally vulnerable following loss in my own life. The list goes on but when talking about the word vulnerable in a Social Care sense it is so often seen as a negative.

It is seen as people unable to look after themselves needing other people to step in and do it for them. The way it is framed in the media is that those people are a drain on society using resources that could be used elsewhere. The system is seen as something broken that needs to be fixed.

When completing Care Act assessments we look at the outcomes and for someone to be eligible they have to meet 2 outcomes. Meeting them means they either cannot complete the tasks themselves, they can but it would take them significantly longer or would cause them pain to do so. There are 10 outcomes that we look at when doing these types of assessments, some are the ability to look after a child or to make or maintain relationships. These are not the same as helping people day to day with their hands on needs such as getting washed and dressed but when people think of Social Care this is what springs to mind. It is seen as something only needed by older people because they are unable to do something themselves anymore. Anyone may need support under the Care Act, it is not just “the vulnerable”, “old people” or “disabled”. People go through difficult times and may need extra support because of it. They may struggle with socialisation or have fear when going out and about so need someone to come with them to make it feel less scary.

I don't know about you but I have had times where I have taken someone with me to an appointment or an unknown place for moral support. I am lucky enough to have people in my life who I can ask to come with me for these types of situations but not everyone does and that can be something else provided under the Care Act. We have different teams in the council for this exact reason. Different people have different needs based on what is going on in their lives at the time. A lot of the support we provide is actually to informal carers who do a lot of unpaid work or supporting their loved one. This support is so vital that there is a section in the Care Act that supports carers. We use the same outcomes to assess them but they only have to meet 1 outcome to be eligible which shows just how crucial what they do is.

We are often called the professionals or the experts when working with the people we support. I would say that I am this when it comes to the process and how that works but this can make me feel like a gatekeeper. It can appear that unless they tell me the “right” answers or ask the right questions that they may miss something. I try to counteract this by providing as much information as possible in the early stages as I feel it is important that the person or their support system are going into a situation able to make an informed decision. I would not want to make a decision about something significant in my life without having all the facts and I feel it should be the same for the people we support. Although there are occasions where it is appropriate for us to make decisions in someone's best interests these are done alongside the people that know them best as they have a lot more knowledge about the person or the situation than we do. We can advise, share information, answer questions but ultimately decision making is either done by the person if they can or by a group of people around the person.

As I have explained before I work in an Older peoples team so I have not has as much experience of how language can impact people in other age ranges or with learning disabilities so I asked a colleague and friend Momoh Suleman to write a guest section on this blog about how his experiences in a Learning Disabilities team look.

“Language is an integral part of communication, because for us to have an effective communication then one form of language must have been used as a medium of expression. Language is crucial in shaping the experiences of adults with learning disabilities, like everyone, language influences their ability to communicate, access services and partake in nation building. For many adults with learning disabilities, difficulty in language can present significant barriers to communicate effectively, which might play a role in impacting their independence, social inclusion and mental health.

During communication, People with learning disabilities may struggle with expressing and listening, which can lead to misunderstandings, frustration, and isolation. Emerson et al., (2012), argued in their research titled Health Inequalities & People with Learning Disabilities in the UK: that individuals with learning disabilities are more likely to experience communication challenges, which often results in limiting social interaction which could be because of the difficulty in expressing their needs. These challenges can become a barrier for them to access services like social care, healthcare, education and employment, which are important for them to have a good quality of life.

Therefore, as individuals we must understand that the way we perceive and treat individuals with learning disabilities matter a lot. The language people (especially us social workers) use in communicating with people with learning disabilities can either empower or stigmatise. Families need to understand that negative language and use of outdated stereotypical terms can lead to societal exclusion of individuals with learning disabilities. Adopting person-centred language as cited by the Royal College of Speech and Therapists, (2019) can promote dignity, and encourage a more inclusive society for everyone.”

Following on from what Momoh has said there the type of language we use is so important when speaking about people. It can be easy when talking about case loads and “service users” that at the end of the day they are also just people who need something. They have their own lives, opinions, views, wishes and feelings. We want to be the people who they tell friends and family about because we did such a good job supporting them. We found the human touch in a situation where it would have been easy for that to be lost or forgotten. Our input is there to improve a situation not make it worse. We have to be mindful about the impact we can have on someone and try make that impact positive.