University Report: Interpersonal Communication and Disability Groups

This report delves into the complexities of interpersonal communication, specifically focusing on interactions with individuals from various disability groups. It begins by defining interpersonal communication and its significance, followed by an in-depth examination of the barriers that can impede effective communication with people who have visual impairments, hearing impairments, learning disabilities, and mobility impairments. The report then outlines specific communication skills necessary for successful interactions with each disability group, providing practical advice on adapting communication styles and approaches. Furthermore, it identifies and discusses applicable resources, such as assistive technologies and communication aids, that can facilitate better communication. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of tailored communication strategies and the availability of resources for fostering inclusivity and understanding in interpersonal exchanges with individuals with disabilities.

Running Head: INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
Interpersonal Communication
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
Introduction
The interpersonal communication can be referred to as the process of exchanging
information, feelings, ideas meaning between people through either the verbal or the non-verbal
communication (O’Sullivan & Carr, 2018). Often, it includes the face-to-face exchange of
messages taking any particular form of a tone of voice, body language, facial expression,
gestures and many others. The interpersonal communication skill level is measured by the
effectiveness of meaning which is transferred through messages. In a business organization, the
interpersonal communication consists of the client meetings, project discussions, employee
performance reviews and many others (Johnson, 2019). The online conversation has occupied a
large part of the interpersonal experience of people today. This report will select the disability
group as the client group and describe the barriers in working with this group. The report will
also demonstrate clear understanding of the communication skills that are required for effective
communication with the disability group. It will further identify applicable resources that may
assist with communication while communicating with the selected client group.
Discussion
Barriers in working with disable client group
There are various ways disabilities in the client groups can affect the abilities to
communicate and understand various topics and discussions. The disability and abilities are
quite unique for an individual. Most of the accommodations are creative, simple for doing
things. The barriers are as follows:
 The people having visual impairment are referred to as the people with ‘low vision’. It
also consists of people who are legally blind. For these types of people, objects might

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appear blurry. They might not recognize the missing parts of an objects and learning with
a visual medium might consume lengthy hours. This in turn might become mentally
fatiguing for both the client and the service provider.
 Those people who are blind by birth might further face difficulty in understanding the
visual materials, its verbal descriptions and the abstract concepts (Newman, 2015). The
difficulty level of those who are blind by birth is much greater than those who lost vision
later in life. The synchronization of the verbal description and understanding becomes
extremely complicated for people with blindness.
 Those people who have hearing impairments might hear only with the assistance of
hearing aids or other amplification devices. Those who do not use such devices might
only hear specific frequencies or not at all. They have issues with properly speaking and
understanding the language structure received by them (Giles, 2016). It is difficult for
them to follow the instructions delivered in a crowded place or when the speaker is
speaking rapidly. They also cannot watch the demonstrations simultaneously and follow
the verbal descriptions (O’Sullivan & Carr, 2018). It is hard to make them participate in
a group discussion actively.
 The people with learning disabilities usually have average intelligence and might feel
difficulty in understanding the abstract concepts. They might take long weary hours to
read, understand and respond to a particular question and fill any given form. The
processing of written information becomes tough for them ( Johnson, 2019). The people
referred to as having the mobility impairments have some of the body impairments and
move with the help of wheelchair, walkers or canes. It becomes hard to ask them to
relocate to other places due to worm related reasons.

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The communication skills required for effectively communicating with disabled group
The communication in business is an important right of every human being. There are
specific ways of communicating with the disabled people.
 The people having hearing disability must be touched by their shoulder first for gaining
attention. The speaker should stand under maximum-lighted place. The sentences
should be kept short whole communicating with them (Silverman, Kurtz & Draper,
2016). Pen and paper can also be used for communicating. The speaker must try to
reword sentences instead of repeating.
 The people having vision impairment should be talked to with a normal voice and not
over –exaggerated tone. The instructions or the verbal directions should be specified
such as ‘ move slightly to your left’ instead of ‘ over there’. They should be asked often
regarding what they can see and what they cannot (Cotter, Hollwey & Carr, 2017).
 The people with intellectual disability should be spoken with a natural volume using
simple language. They should be asked short questions for gathering information. The
instructions must be brief and clear for avoiding frustration.
 Those having learning disabilities must be spoken with direct and clear sentences. The
information should be rephrased when it is not understood. The visual aids should be
used such as pictures and diagrams (Cotter, Hollwey & Carr, 2017). They should always
be given the opportunity to answer the questions. They need to be talked patiently,
calmly in a soft voice.
The applicable resources assisting in communication with the disabled groups

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 People with low vision should be given a lighted place to seat. The information must be
written with large and bold letters and the screen enlargement software can also be taken
help of.
 For communicating with the blind people, Braille should be used and there should be
appropriate use of technology. Some of the instructions can be transferred to audiotape.
The tactile models can be prepared to deliver certain messages along with raised-line
drawings of graphic materials.
 The Braille printers, Braille screen displays, optical character reader and tactile timers
can also be used along with the adaptive equipment as the talking calculators.
 People having hearing impairments can be communicated through interpreters, visual
aids, sound amplification systems, electronic mails for meetings or office discussions. In
cases case of emergencies, the visual warning systems can be installed too.
 The learning disabled people should be communicated with audiotaped instructions in a
quiet location with tactile demonstrations into directions.
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above discussion, it can be concluded that the communication
method with a client group which is of people with disabilities is quite different. It is different
than the normal method of communication. This report has selected the disability group as the
client group and described the barriers in working with this group. The report also demonstrated
clear understanding of the communication skills that are required for effective communication
with the disability group. It has further identified applicable resources that may assist with
communication while communicating with the selected client group.

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Reference
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Giles, H. (2016). Communication accommodation theory. The International Encyclopedia of
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Johnson, C. (2019). Disabled people and social estrangement: facilitating connection in
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Newman, J. (2015). Identity and narrative: turning oppression into client empowerment in social
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O’Sullivan, P. B., & Carr, C. T. (2018). Masspersonal communication: A model bridging the
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Silverman, J., Kurtz, S., & Draper, J. (2016). Skills for communicating with patients. CRC Press.