Abstract
Communication can be viewed as the basic means of establishing meaningful interpersonal relationships. The main topic of this article is communication with people with a learning disability.
In the past the topic concerned only a limited group of people, since there was no attempt to integrate disabled people into the society. At present there is a clear tendency toward full integration of people with a learning disability into society.
Such tendency is closely related to abidance to the basic human rights. One of the main practical competencies of helping professionals includes the ability to communicate correctly with people requiring specific needs.
On the other hand the knowledge of basic communication principles and rights of disabled people concerns the moral competencies of everybody. The aim of this article is to briefly introduce the general context of communicating with adults with a learning disability.
The author of the present paper is going to pay particular attention to the term and classification of mental disabilities and to explain the respective laws and needs within international context. The main OSN documents concerning the field in question will be taken into consideration.
The most common prejudices about the life of people with a learning disability will be pointed out. With regard to the author’s work experience the article will focus mainly on sheltered housing in the Czech Republic.
The system of communication and cooperation with a client in a chosen housing facility will also be introduced. The findings will be supplemented by casuistics.
The formulation and recapitulation of the main principles of communication in the field in question will be also dealt with in the article.