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Purpose and overview
Effective communication with participants in community aged care relies on good choices about the use of digital and non-digital communication tools. These choices should be informed by an understanding of the communication rights, needs and preferences of older Australians, including those living with disability.
Many older Australians are capable and confident users of digital communication technologies, and people with disability are often early adopters. However, a significant proportion face barriers in using digital tools for a range of practical, cognitive or access-related reasons.
At a population level, age is the strongest predictor of digital exclusion. Disability is the second-strongest factor and, when combined with ageing, further increases the risk of exclusion.
In 2023, COTA Victoria and Seniors Rights Victoria produced a guide to effective use of digital and non-digital communications in Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) delivery. This was based on consultation with older Victorians, service providers and research literature.
Our earlier guide acknowledges disability but does not explore it in detail. The present resource addresses that gap by outlining key issues and what good practice looks like in communicating with older Australians with a disability. The resource is targeted to both front line staff and managers shaping organisational policy and practice standards. The guidance is general in nature and does not include technical details.
While this guide relates to older people with all types of disability, it provides targeted advice for some of the most common forms of disability experienced by participants in community aged care:
- Dementia related disability,
- sensory disability (sight, hearing and speech),
- physical mobility disability, and
- other cognitive and psychosocial disability (Intellectual, Acquired Brain Injury, Psychosocial, Autism).
It is important to recognise that these different types of disability can often coexist within individuals, particularly as people age.