No Bars on Communication

DAMITA LAMONT

A not-for-profit organisation aims to help all Tasmanians live fuller lives by improving their language and literacy skills.

Everyday life for those with developmental language disorders can be like “living in France while only speaking English” . To hear words pass them by but to have the meaning escape them.

In missing out on this detail-rich information and these opportunities for social connection, sadly many of these people end up in the prison system. This highlights a huge societal imbalance, with only 1-2 per cent of the general population in Australia having severe language impairment while 50-60 per cent of the youth justice population have it.

Not-for-profit organisation Connect42, which aims to help people build their communication skills so they can live whole lives in connection with others, aims to address this imbalance.

The charity’s founder, renowned speech pathologist and criminologist Rosie Martin, says it is this unjust imbalance that ignites passion within her to improve language, literacy and learning for all Tasmanians, with a large area of the organisation’s work focusing on those in the prison system.

Martin says the exact number of those in the adult prison system with severe language impairment is not known but that many from the youth justice system do end up in the adult system , and she believes that developing language can help to mitigate some of these outcomes.

Awarded Tasmanian of the Year in 2017 for her work in helping prisoners crack the code of reading, and after 35 years of specialising in services for children with autism spectrum disorder and language-literacy disorders, Martin is well poised in her mission to improve the language of Tasmanians.

“When we talk about language; speech is just the motor production and the muscle movement that makes the sounds, while language is the ideas and the understanding that sits behind the words when someone is speaking to us,” Martin says.

“Those with severe language impairment are missing out on that rich detail and meaning … and many of these people often don’t have another reference point to how much meaning is going past them.”

Aside from the distinct disadvantage those with severe language impairment face when avoiding run-ins with the law, simply through not understanding laws and societal norms in the ways that the average person does, it can make it more difficult when navigating judicial processes and even everyday life.

“In a practical sense, severe language impairment can affect people when engaging with the parole process, going through the court system as they may not understand what is happening when they’re engaging with lawyers or child safety representatives ,” Martin says. “It is also challenging when engaging in any bureaucratic processes such as in hospital or Centrelink, because of the language used.”

One of the Connect42 initiatives that focuses on language is Just Time, an eight-week program for mothers and fathers currently in either the Mary Hutchinson Women’s Prison, the Ron Barwick Prison or the Risdon Prison Complex, funded by the state government since 2018.

The program focuses on the widely lauded circle of security concept; teaching the processes of parent-child attachment using a simple graphic, powerful metaphors and reflective dialogue within a small facilitated group. “Participants have the opportunity to tell stories from their lives in relation to these concepts and share with others what they are thinking and feeling ,” Martin says.

“The research is very clear that we get behavioural change when we reflect on our behaviours. And when we do so in a non-judgmental way, with those that we trust and feel safe with, we are more likely to make these changes.”

Launched in March, the Just Moving On program supports those upon their release from prison as a follow-on from the Just Time program.

This “through-care” program is funded by the Tasmanian Community Fund and is partnered with the Tasmania Prison Service and Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

“There is really good evidence in criminological literature that when we provide people with good through-care it leads to much better results, with people integrating well back into society and not coming back to prison,” Martin says.

“Using speech pathologists, we focus on language, literacy and skills of connection. We also help with further job readiness, supported through our partnership with the TCCI.”

The positive effects of improving people’s language, their opportunities to connect with others and express themselves are profound.

“If we can’t speak out we will act out and for some that acting out spills over into crime,” Martin says. “Solutions lie in helping people to speak out. For those with diminished access to language , they are still emotional beings who still fill themselves with the dignity of being human – and they don’t want to be seen in any way as lesser.

“These programs really honour the emotional wholeness of person.”

Early intervention can be crucial in improving language skills and setting children on the right path from as early an age as possible. Due to this, Connect42 has worked extensively with schools to improve awareness of developmental language disorders with teachers and other school staff.

“About two children in any classroom will have a developmental language disorder. It is the most common childhood condition you have never heard of as many people are not aware of it,” Martin says. “For teachers these disorders are a part of their working world, yet they have not been as well-resourced in the area as they could be and we need to create more support in classrooms. We know how to support children with literacy problems when on a smaller scale, but our systems are not yet delivering these technologies widely and more broadly.”

Connect42, formerly known as Chatter Matters Tasmania, was launched in 2013, focusing on building communication skills and creating social connections “through language, literacy and love” .

The organisation’s work spans prisons, schools, families and children, the disabled, homeless and those experiencing other disadvantages.

“We want to ensure 100 per cent literacy across Tasmania by 2030 to create the positive life prospects and equal opportunities that start with education,” Martin says.

“We know that connection through communication is the key to significant positive change.”

This article by Damita Lamont was published for Tas Weekend September 4 issue, with thanks to The Mercury.