CHAPTER 4 104 creativity and ability of the professional to adjust ways of communication, the communication level or the use of AAC to the child’s communication abilities (Dedding et al., 2013; Delfos, 2016; Punch, 2002; Scott, 2008). This does not fit with the overall requested standard or uniform communication when assessing children with standardized tests. Therefore, in research and practice, we should adapt our communication to the child based on professional knowledge, clinical reasoning and reflection-in-action instead of using a fixed method for all children. Still, a clear guideline how to adapt communication to the child or decision algorithm is, to our knowledge, lacking. Based on the results, we suggest that the type of questions asked (Blank, 2001; Westby, 2017) are adapted based on the level of thecommunication (Oskam&Scheres, 2016). Inorder toenhancecommunication even more, interviewer skills and techniques can be customized by adapting to the child’s communication abilities, preferences or based on his (in)adequate responses. Overall, this resulted in an overview of communication levels linked to type of questions and possible interviewer skills and techniques, which we present in Table 2. This overview can be used in preparation for the interview and during the interview to guide the reflection-in-action. As this guideline is the first in combining communication level with type of questions and possible interviewer techniques and skills, we suggest to further study the usability and effectiveness in adapting the communication of the interviewer to the child. In Table 2, we did not link interviewer skills, techniques or AAC to the communication level of the child, as this should be tailored based on the preferences and overall abilities of the child (not only communication skills). The overview in Table 2 can be used in practice to tailor the communication to the child. Results showed further that parental influence was seen in supportive and in unsupportive actions, which raises the question; should parents be present in communication focused on uncovering the child perspective? We recommend having a clear plan for the presence of the parent(s). In three cases it was necessary to include the parent(s) in the conversation; to translate some questions, to interpret the non-verbal reaction of the child and to determine whether the child correctly answered the question. However, the presence of a parent can also influence the opinion of the child about the activity. We therefore propose to, 1) have a parent present at the start of the interview to examine the communication level of the child and check its compatibility with the child’s communication ability; 2) ask the parent to leave the room or to isolate himself/herself from the interview (e.g. reading a book); 3) member check the information with the parent afterwards. Overall, professionals should be aware of the influence of parents and reflect on the (un) supportiveness in relation to uncovering the child’s perspective.
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