Whilst I have been working as a Senior Childcare Practitioner (SCCP) at Total Care Matters I have had to modify how I communicate with the young people as they all have different communication styles, personalities and characters. Sometimes the young people will complain that they are not all treated the same, at times like this I remind them that they are individuals and diverse we often talk about their differences and how this can be celebrated. Young people are encouraged to communicate in young peoples meetings, key working sessions and discussions so that their view and thoughts are heard. I ensure that I use informal methods for communication, such as talking over dinner, or whilst making dinner, gardening, or whilst watching tv, I find these are good places to bring up things that in a formal setting may have an adverse effects, and put pressure on a young person. Also they may not understand what is being said and feel intimidated. We have one young person who although she is 15, her levels of reasoning and functioning are that of an 8 year old, therefore when communicating with her I have to make reference to things she can understand and this needs to be done very informally as part of a normal conversation for instance whilst preparing dinner one day I brought up the conversation about treating everyone fairly and equally as she was bullying a member of staff I asked her how she would feel is someone bullied her mum, as she is very close to her mum, at first she was defensive and said it was the workers choice to work at the unit, however after sometime she said she would not like to know someone was being horrible to her mum. So I use what method suits them best and ensures that they are understood and heard I also ensure that my team members understand the same and implement this into their working practice. (4.1a &b)
Within the unit we have a young person who is a lesbian and now wants a sex change and to change her name to a...