Communication in situations requiring unusual support in audiological practice

Abstract

The article discusses the importance of effective communication and informational support for parents of children with hearing impairment who are in difficult situations. I present three cases: a young parent of a child with hearing impairment; parents and children with genetic deafness (the “Deaf” family); and a child with multiple disabilities, including hearing impairment. Based on these cases, I discuss general guidelines of how to give effective help to patients in difficult situations, which can occur in the practice of physicians and speech therapists. In the last part of the article, I show a roadmap for effective communication between healthcare professionals and patients with hearing impairment. The roadmap was developed based on the classic Jacob’s theory of speech acts.