Words count and I am confused!

“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” ~ Nelson Mandela

Why do we love an acronym? Does it make us feel important or the one in control? Does it mean we avoid the conversations we really need to have? Does it change the balance between the speaker and the receiver? It can say: “I know more than you and I am telling you that quickly; I am testing you to see if you ask me what the words mean”.

I think this about power. The words we choose to use make a difference in how they are interpreted by others.

“Language has no independent existence apart from the people who use it. It is not an end in itself; it is a means to an end of understanding who you are and what society is like.”  said David Crystal

I see acronyms being used in many areas of the work I do whether this is in health care with a myriad of terms. As a trainee G.P. (General Practitioner) many years ago I remember reading a colleagues’ notes and asked what F.L.K. meant and was horrified when I was told it stood for ‘Funny Looking Kid’!

I can understand that acronyms can be a way of conveying meaning quickly. However, they also can turn into something else if misused. Starting in a new job with one company they can feel like a linguistic wall that means conversations are not understood. Growing levels of embarrassment happen when you are concerned you may be considered ignorant and leads to avoidance in asking. This is especially true when all around you are nodding and seem to understand. It takes a bold person to stop the flow of conversation and ask.  But lack of opportunity, training, or experience may be simple reasons for not knowing the terms. However, it is not standard for us to begin jobs being given a glossary of terms. I often ask a wide range of businesses whether they do give new starters a glossary and I often get the answer no.

I am working on one project at the moment with researchers, educators, scientists, data analysts, health care professionals, and those working in the justice sector. It is like an acronym soup. We keep needing to explain what we mean about what we are saying. We also have different terms meaning sometimes the same thing and sometimes not. It’s like the words of the hokey-cokey “ in/out shake it all about!”.

Let’s start with one group of words. Education often uses the term SpLD (Specific Learning Difficulties). This term usually includes Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, and Dyspraxia under the umbrella. Ironically, the term Dyspraxia is used for co-ordination difficulties when the international term is Developmental Coordination Disorder, which is usually used by health care professionals. We hear the term SEN or Special Educational Needs (The term SEN covers a wide range of needs. These include behavioural, emotional, and social difficulties, speech, language and communication, hearing impairment, visual impairment, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability, and autism) and in Wales, the term ALN is used standing for Additional Learning Needs is used instead. One definition for this term is ‘Additional Learning Needs (ALN) can take a wide variety of forms and can relate to one or more different areas of learning, such as communication and cognition.’

Are you confused? I am.

Consider the use of acronyms ND/NDDs as this can be very confusing too. Terms used include NDD (Neurodevelopmental Disorders) and ND which may refer to Neurodiversity which is often wrongly used as another term for Autism Spectrum Disorder.  ND is sometimes used to mean Neurodisability,( an umbrella term for conditions associated with impairment involving the nervous system and includes conditions such as cerebral palsy, autism and epilepsy’.)

All these terms all include and exclude different conditions that often overlap with each other. An umbrella term is a word or phrase that covers a wide range of concepts belonging to a common category. However, the reality there is often no commonality between the umbrellas!

The result of miscommunication often means we can feel too embarrassed to ask what the terms mean, and especially in a group setting. If you have to keep asking what things mean, you stop asking pretty quickly especially if those around you look exasperated.

 I am pretty confident and among this professional group I will ask if I don’t understand and maybe I am also confident enough to withstand any looks or tutting noises. But, if we consider different environments the words we use if not understood have a profound impact on people’s lives.

For example, it can start with parents seeking help for their children and having to navigate their way through the educational jargon .If you can’t read a letter from school how can you know where and how to seek help for your child if you are worried about them? In order to understand how to gain EHCPs’ (Education Health Care Plans),or see a SENCO( Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) you need to understand these terms. I came across Edubabble Bingo when writing this blog which I thought was quite amusing but did demonstrate how hard it is for teachers when starting to navigate the words being spoken in school. If it is hard for them what about the parents and the children!

Words are all about accessibility and inclusion. When we cannot understand, we cannot participate. There is a barrier put in place and we can react in two ways: we either withdraw or attack. We are all responsible for who can be a part of the conversation. I repeat again that this is about power and control. If you don’t understand a system you cannot navigate it, you can’t participate. You are ‘the other’ and are excluded. You are likely to attain less.

We often assume people speak the same words and read them too.16.4% of adults in England, or 7.1 million people, can be described as having 'very poor literacy skills’. Pupils with English as an Additional Language reach lower levels of attainment.

(A pupil is recorded as having English as an additional language if she/he is exposed to a language at home that is known or believed to be other than English. It is not a measure of English language proficiency or a good proxy for recent immigration.)

A double whammy

Pupils with special educational needs (SEN) are likely to be less competent in speaking English proficiently. 39% of SEN pupils were assessed as competent or fluent in English compared to 64% of pupils with no SEN. ( But what is SEN?)

What's the point of it all?

The point I am getting across is that those who cannot participate are at a disadvantage in engaging in the communities they live and work in. Once we go down a different path and for example a child becomes excluded from their school then a whole set of new language understanding is required to navigate these new settings.

Sadly, pupils excluded from school at 12 years of age are four times as likely as other children to be jailed as adults. Ironically, we see much higher rates of undiagnosed Dyslexia and Developmental Language Disorder in these children. These are communication barriers. Once you start navigating the legal system then the complexity of legalise becomes an even greater barrier to effective participation in society.

Not being understood has led to the children in school behaving in ways just trying to be heard. They may try vocally first and then with their actions. The longstanding impact of not being heard or understood is despair and feelings of otherness and shame.

Language can be a communicator or create a barrier. This has social, political, and economic impacts. As a society, we need to ensure that we are being truly inclusive. It starts with the words we speak.

Remember: Just because you have said something it does not mean you have been heard or understood. Communication is two-way.