Barriers to communication Essay

1.3 Identify barriers to effective communication A child, young person, their parent(s)/carer(s) or even a member of staff whose first language is foreign may make it harder for any communication spoken to them to be understood. They may only understand very small words of the language you’re speaking, so information will be harder to put across. For example; in my setting, there is a child who can understand what you are saying, but it seems, most of the time they seem very quiet. This may be due to their parent(s) being from a foreign country, so they may be able to communicate in their parent(s) language, but not in ours so may find it hard to communicate some of their needs/feelings. Someone may have a sensory deprivation – such as hearing or sight. This will make giving and receiving information harder to do – they may need an interpreter at all times for example. When talking to a service provider, they may use technical language that the service user may not understand which will make it harder for them to process the information and may worry what they have meant. Someone may be going through a difficult time that is making their emotions go all over the place – such as they may take things the wrong way, get upset easily, no full concentration and not trying as hard to complete/do things. Environmental/setting problems can cause a barrier for a communication – someone who may not be able to see very well will find it hard to read any written information in a dimly lit room. Or, for example, someone in a wheelchair can find it hard to communicate with someone if they are at a desk that is above the wheelchair users head.