REGISTERED INTERMEDIARY AND COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST

ASSISTING VULNERABLE PEOPLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE JUSTICE SYSTEM

Witnesses, defendants, applicants and respondents in family court private or public law cases and anywhere where a vulnerable person needs a voice.

INITIAL CONTACT

Once you have contacted me (either via the NCA Matching Service (victim and witness work) or directly through this website), I will call you to find out a bit about the work involved and the vulnerabilities of the person involved. I will ask to see any reports which are relevant to their communication profile and I may ask to speak with someone who knows the person well enough to tell me about their communication strengths and weaknesses. I also ask about their likes and dislikes so I can tailor the assessment to the person. I will ask you to make sure you have the written consent from the person, or if they are under 18 from the parent/person responsible for them.

ASSESSMENT

If I can, I will make contact with the vulnerable person just to say hello, let them know who I am and that I am meeting them soon. I then meet with them to assess their communication:what they can say, what they understand and their 'social communication'. This is mainly done informally. I have planted seeds with a child whose mum told me she loved gardening, I also have a range of arts and crafts activities, colouring based on favourite TV programmes and games and play dough options for children. For adults (and sometimes for children, I use visual symbols called 'Talking Mats' as an icebreaker and to hear how the person speaks.

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See my blog on the Talking Mats  https://www.talkingmats.com/assisting-vulnerable-people-to-communicate/

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I also assess their levels of suggestibility, acquiescence, social communication, how the person reacts to differing pace and tone, whether there is anything that can help them to regulate their emotions or anxiety responses in court so that the communication centres in the brain are not closed down. One witness was assisted by the presence of a therapy dog throughout the giving of his evidence.He did not have a panic attack whilst giving evidence and remained coherent and provided very complete responses to questions throughout his cross-examination.

Some people prefer to be engaged on a functional task which helps them to focus and remain present, such as colouring.  Others find fidget tools help them to self-regulate.

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THE REPORT

I then write a report for the court (or the police if they require assistance in a witness or a suspect interview) setting out my findings and my recommendations for special measures which will help the person to communicate and effectively participate. Sometimes an intermediary is not required either because the person is not able to communicate even with intermediary support, or because they are sufficiently capable and will not benefit from having me there. If they do need intermediary support I will let you know.I will also let you know what I recommend in order to support their communication. The courts are under a duty to take 'every reasonable step' to enable effective participation. Most of the time, you have contacted me because you have noticed an issue which means that you are concerned that the person should be assessed by an intermediary. A lot of the time, you are right. 

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The assessment and the report will also include some consideration about how anxiety and any trauma experienced may affect communication in the court or at the police interview. Where people are being asked to go over things that may be upsetting or difficult, this can affect their communication. The retelling can trigger, for example, trauma responses for example fight, flight or freeze, which will need to be managed in a court environment.