Reflection:
In one of the assisted living facilities where I work, we care for one resident who is definitively hard of hearing. I noticed that the current caregivers when I started, primarily used a whiteboard to communicate with him. He would do okay with lip reading and gestures too, however, the whole time I was observing I felt like he could understand us well enough, but we had no idea what was going on in his world. When I first met him, I asked my peers if they knew how long he had been hard of hearing so that I knew his level of communication skills. They weren't sure which was frustrating. A lot of memory care residents have a hard time communicating so it was clear that there wasn't much extra effort put in to ensure this resident was able to communicate as he pleased. After I inquired about his history of communication and got pretty much nowhere, I just tried signing with him. I used a few simple and basic signs that are more popular and obvious. To my surprise, he nodded to them! I was enthused to know that he could understand my ASL and that by signing to him, he would feel more dignified in his care. This meant changing the way I moved through my job duties. Typically, I talk through what I'm doing as I work, but with ASL, I was required to pause in my care or plan ahead to communicate with my resident. Even though I am very pleased to communicate with my resident in a language he might understand better, it still felt like us talking to him without hearing his opinions. I think the next step in my relationship with this resident is to figure out what form of communication is most comfortable for him to rely on. This communication cultural experience allows me to complete the competency for Communication Level Three.
​
​