NHS Fife and Fife Health and Social Care Partnership are taking the lead from neurodivergent adults in Fife to implement effective ways of communicating with them. Practical and simple changes identified through discussion and projects with patients have now been adopted by mental health occupational therapy services. Callum MacKinnon, Specialist Occupational Therapist, Mental Health OT service explained: “Simple changes in the way we communicate with neurodivergent adults make a difference to them, demonstrate we are listening and are more neuroaffirming.”
These small changes can make services feel more inclusive and accessible to neurodivergent people too, Callum went on. “Practical examples include adding in a photo of the staff member the patient will see when sending out the initial assessment appointment letter as an introduction. “Another example is corresponding by email with patients instead of phoning to confirm or change their appointments because they prefer this as a method of communication.“And making sure patients are signed up for text reminders to ensure they have a prompt ahead of their appointments help neurodivergent adults too.”
Callum is getting the chance to talk about the changes made by NHS Fife Mental Health Occupational Therapy services on a national stage too.
He took part in a Scottish Government launch of a new a national resource about mental health services being autism informed and presented at a recent webinar where he was asked to talk about the changes implemented.
Callum said: “It was great to be able to share the examples with other health boards across the country – it would be great if Fife became a benchmark for others to adopt similar approaches.”
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