Welcome to My Communication Passport!
Personal Communication Passports were invented by Sally Millar in 1991 with the aim of creating ‘a practical and person-centred way of supporting children, young people and adults who cannot easily speak for themselves’.
We have been evolving Laura’s Passport for over 10 years.
Here are some of the benefits that we have discovered since using it:
Empowerment
The Passport is written in Laura’s own voice. This allows her needs to be expressed in a way that reminds everyone they are dealing with a young adult who is trying to communicate with them in ways that they might not have otherwise recognised.
Aspirations and Potential
The Passport shows others how Laura would like her life to be. By informing the reader of ways to support positive behaviour, the Passport promotes care that lets Laura feel and act her best.
Accountability
An important feature of Laura’s Passport is that it increases the accountability of those who are responsible for her care.
As Laura’s Passport contains clear information on the best ways to deliver good practice, any negative incident must be reflected on in relation to what should have been done and what can be done in the future.
Mobility & Versatility
The size of the physical booklet allows for the Passport to travel everywhere with Laura: school / day centre / hospital / respite.
The digital version allows for the Passport to be emailed to support workers and other professionals in advance. This gives people plenty of time to get to grips with Laura’s needs and wishes before they meet her.
The Passport can be easily updated and changed as Laura gets older. We are always discovering new things about her and, just like the rest of us, she is changing all the time! Her Communication Passport can report the most up-to-date knowledge and needs as we learn them.
We have been told how useful Laura’s Passport is as an example, so we decided to make a template that anyone can use, which can be edited to suit your needs.
On this website you can find a copy of Laura’s Passport, a template which you can use to make your own Communication Passport, copies of Passports made by others using the template, and some guidance information that you might find useful.