Adapting the Wellbeing Indicators

Why? Important to gain views of child & young person. Practitioners are aware of the need to include children & young people who are vulnerable. There is already a well established culture of inclusion /involvement of vulnerable children & young people. CSPs and Child’s Plan already include the views of the child/young person. The process builds on existing collaborative links between Education/SW/Health.

Challenges! Vital to have accurate information about the child/young person. Concept of “self-rating” can be challenging for vulnerable children. The process of translation has the linguistic effect of making statements “bold”. Embedding and including the process: time factors.

What? Adapting text requires robust interpretation. Interpretation precedes translation. It is vital to interpret the meaning of a message prior to putting it into symbol form. Abstract Meanings: oral and written language contains high numbers of multiple meanings.

What? Cont.. Why did we use symbols? Symbol systems: sometimes called “visuals.” Boardmaker, Widgit are sofware packages. They use different types of symbols eg: PCS, Rebus, Makaton, Clip Art. PECS: Practical programme which uses visuals to develop children/young peoples interaction/initiation skills.

Who? Developmentally younger children. Children/young people who have Moderate LD/Developmental delay/EBD. These children often present with: Mis-match between expressive/receptive skills. Problems with Semantic/ inference/narrative skills and topic maintenance, which are required for conversations.

Who? Children/young people who may have long term conditions/Learning difficulties. These children may present with poor cognitive skills, conceptual knowledge, attention control. They often process information visually, as oral language is temporal. They use AAC: Alternative/Augmentative communication.

How? Ensure there is robust assessment of the child/young person. A multi-agency team approach (GIR) will help decision-making about who is the best person to work with the child to gather as accurate a picture as possible. Use the adapted text/symbols to help the child reflect. Take notes from the discussion. “Talking Mats” format can be used to complete the web. Ideally two adults would be present.

Developments in Angus A launch event held in May 2013 – opportunities for multi-agency partners to discuss and explore Practitioners forum established – several dates set to allow interested practitioners from health, social work, education, & voluntary agencies to share and learn from each other January 2014 – survey of effectiveness of adapted well-being web to inform future practice Currently – Practitioners forum is on-going and expanding.

Websites Enquiries about hard copies of the adapted wellbeing web pack to be directed to: Martin Gregory – or Kenny Saunders -

Contact details Joanna Fraser Claire Leslie