Words that make me go hmmm: Complex needs
“Isabelle is 15 years old with complex needs.” So begins one of the many ‘case studies’ in the Care and support statutory guidance. We learn that “when Isabelle leaves school…
Words that make me go hmmm: Placement
“placement noun: the act of putting something or someone somewhere.” – Cambridge dictionary [1] I’m generally a fan of the Care Act statutory guidance. I frequently quote it in meetings and blog…
Assume I can
I’ve been thinking a lot about assumptions recently, prompted by our Gloriously Ordinary Co-production Together programme session this week about Test Three for Gloriously Ordinary Co-production: Are we clear that we need…
Socially acceptable
“That makes me think that “social care” is sometimes about being socially acceptable.” This comment appeared in the Zoom meeting chat in a recent Gloriously Ordinary Language session where we…
Cup of tea
Last week, me and Tricia Nicoll held half-day Gloriously Ordinary Language intro sessions with two of the organisations joining our May programme. Early in each session, we asked people to share some…
Words that make me go hmmm: Respite
The dictionary definition of ‘respite’ is “a short period of rest or relief from something difficult or unpleasant”. [1] If I was into banning words, that first sentence would be…
Words that make me go hmmm: Carer
Last Monday me and Tricia Nicoll chatted for an hour with a group of people who had signed up to our online ‘Gloriously Ordinary Language: Keeping our language human, inclusive…
Words that make me go hmmm: Person-centred
“A person-centred approach puts people at the heart of care.” “The person-centred approach treats each person as an individual human being” “A person-centred approach considers the whole person.” If you knew nothing about…
The words that float away
Towards the end of my London book launch, the fabulous Maff Potts mentioned his frustration with “positive language”. It was lovely to be able to show him the ‘recommended resources’…
‘The elderly’ and ‘the wellderly’: why the language of ageing makes us go hmmm…
Today is United Nations International Day of Older Persons, observed under the theme “Older Persons Driving Local and Global Action: Our Aspirations, Our Well-Being and Our Rights”. It’s a day to…
Letter to Bryony S
Yesterday I received a direct message on Instagram from Maria. She said she hoped I didn’t mind her writing to me out of the blue, but that she was reading…
Words that make me go hmmm: Professional
‘Professional’ is yet another of the ‘us and them’ words that dominate our narrative. It’s a blanket term used to distinguish the people who work in organisations (regardless of any…
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Rewriting social care 