We asked our intermediaries to tell us about the most common challenges they face in their roles. Mollie talks about why rapport is so important for her to do her job well.

Being a new intermediary can be a daunting prospect. There’s so much to learn about the formalities of court, working with other professionals and how to assess and support language difficulties. But one of the most important elements of our role is building a rapport with a vulnerable person. Every person we support is different and their acceptance of our presence varies.

It certainly was a challenge at the beginning of my career in this field, and sometimes is still one of the biggest challenges I have to face.

What are the key factors about rapport?

There are several factors which are key in forming a rapport with someone: confidence, perseverance, kindness and empathy.

Confidence: We have to be confident in our ability to provide support to someone. If we don’t portray that, then they’re likely to just ignore us or keep conversation to a minimum.

Perseverance: Not everyone feels ready to work with us and building that rapport may take a little longer. However, if we didn’t have some level of perseverance to overcome these obstacles then we’re probably in the wrong job. Our whole job involves finding solutions to communication difficulties.

Kindness: Being kind and that friendly face amongst all the court professionals, whether it’s on a screen or in person, can make all the difference. Someone with communication difficulties who is going through a legal process may be intimidated by the court professionals. So, it’s okay to talk about normal life outside of court and get to know someone a little better as a person, rather than just a job. The person you are supporting will welcome the distraction of talking about their pets or what their hobbies are. It’s the simple conversation topics which can really help to build that rapport.

Empathy: The people we work with come from a wide variety of backgrounds and have wide ranging experiences. They may find being in court very stressful. It’s important to try and understand where they’re coming from. There will be a range of emotions in a court day and we have to be prepared for the inevitable – will they cry, leave the room unexpectedly or raise their voice?  I’ve worked with people where all of these situations have happened so it’s not uncommon. But that all comes down to trying to understand where this emotion is coming from. In these situations, we have to be emotionally resilient.

Putting this into practice

Something which can be difficult to get used to in this job is the quick turnover of cases. Each day you could be working with a different vulnerable person, and if it’s a one day hearing you have to establish a rapport quickly. Whether this is a phone call introducing yourself and telling them they can ring or message you if they need something explained, or an introduction in person, it is essential.

Top tips:

• Let them ask you questions, because there’ll likely be a lot. There is obviously a limit about what information you should share, but sharing a few things about yourself can help to build a rapport
  
• Be yourself. We are trained in communication but we are all still human beings, and people will appreciate that we aren’t there to judge them or their situation

Keeping the boundaries: It’s extremely important to remember there are boundaries to uphold. We are not their friends and anything they tell us relating to their case must be shared with their legal team, no matter how insignificant it may seem.

What if I have to work with someone remotely?

Working with a vulnerable person remotely can be difficult. Before Covid-19, all of our work would have been face-to-face, but the pandemic meant having to adapt. You can still build a rapport effectively if you are not in the same room. It is important to speak to the person you are supporting before the hearing and ask them how they are feeling. You can agree to set up a separate communication channel during the hearing, perhaps by texting. This gives them an opportunity to ask you things and you can check their understanding during proceedings.

Building rapport is one of the first things we have to do when working with someone. It sets the tone for how you will work together, whether this is a one-day hearing or a 3-week hearing. Even though we might not be working with someone for a long time, we have such an impact on their ability to understand these important events in their lives. So, it’s extremely important to build that rapport so we can provide the best possible service.

I don’t have all the answers. I still have to think on my feet and ask more senior intermediaries for advice because our job can be unpredictable, to say the least. But whatever obstacles arise, we can overcome it. We’re all working towards the same goal: assisting vulnerable people with communication difficulties in court.

In the latest post in our ‘What Inspired Me’ series, Maija tells us about her career path and how she became an intermediary.

I recall being a young Finnish girl, aged perhaps five, and feeling immensely puzzled. I had been in a scuffle and had explained to a kindergarten teacher (in what I thought was great detail) why it was that a friend and I had got into that fight. I thought my explanation was as clear as day, but when the story was relayed back to my parents by that same teacher, the message sounded nothing like what I had said.

Oh, the feeling of frustration and the injustice of it all; how could she not have understood what I had tried to explain? This was all the more strange to me. as I was used to keeping my communication simple. My big sister had a learning disability – mild but significant enough for her not to be able to express herself clearly or understand when people used complicated language. That was the first inkling in my little girl’s brain that the ‘biggest problems in the world’ seemed to stem from misunderstandings.

Over time, this issue of understanding kept raising its head and I wondered why some of us understand things easier than others. Why was it that I struggled to understand what the mathematics teacher was saying, but my friend soaked it all in and got straight As? However, that same friend could not get the rules of English language, try as she might, whereas I had absorbed those with very little difficulty. In fact, I loved learning English (and other languages, for that matter). It made me feel powerful to be able to communicate in a wholly different language system; it was like decoding secret messages.

Finding the right path

Playing to my strengths, I decided that languages would be the path for me. I enrolled on course in University in London to study English and Russian, got my degree and worked as a freelance translator for some time. But I soon found that it was a lonely existence and I got a job in the music industry while, again, deciding ‘what to do when I grow up’.

Five years went by in a blink of an eye, and it dawned on me that I was still very drawn to the issues of communication and understanding. So, I enrolled on a sociolinguistics Masters course. Some of the issues I covered included, if men and women really do communicate very differently, is it nature or nurture? Is it even so clear-cut? Can it be so clear-cut? (It can’t, by the way.) It was exciting and interesting, but when it was all over I found myself with yet another degree and no idea what to do with it.

I then got offered a job in a well-known London art gallery quite by accident. I was blinded by the glamour and found myself on different career path once more. Another six years later, having risen from a temp to a role of a consultant within the arts sector, the glamour was all but gone. I now found myself sitting at a desk in an art centre, in trendy Shoreditch at 9pm on a Friday night, in charge of the operations and pressing numbers on a spreadsheet in time for payroll.

I had become stressed, cynical and deeply unhappy, working in an industry which lacked empathy and left me feeling cold and meaningless. It dawned on me that I was still not where I was supposed to be and it was time to make yet another change; to do something meaningful with my life. Something that made a difference, and even more – I wanted to see the difference that I was making.

Going back to study

In my spare time, I had started volunteering with an elderly (fellow) Finnish woman with significant communication difficulties due to vascular dementia. Every fortnight we spent a few hours talking. I supported her to understand the world as she was experiencing it, and to recall moments of her past by talking about old photos or singing old Finnish popular songs. In those few hours I felt I was doing something more real, more immediate and tangible than in any of my work as a consultant in arts and culture. Perhaps there was something in that; helping another person communicate – giving someone an experience of being heard.

After that night sitting alone in the empty arts centre finishing work, I went home with a mission; find out what I can do with my existing degrees, knowledge and how to go about getting it. After doing extensive research, I found that my profile matched point by point with that of a Speech and Language Therapist. Eureka! I had learned about how we speak differently (languages), why we speak differently (sociolinguistics), and now it was time to learn about what could go wrong in language use and how that could be compensated. I applied on a postgraduate course and got accepted as a full time student at the grand old age of 40.

During the application process I quickly realised that I possessed many qualities that suited the role already. Of course, I had already supported the communication needs of my older sister since I had learned to speak (although as we know, not always entirely successfully!) and I had worked with that lovely elderly lady for some time. But there were other factors that had cropped up over the years.

My mother had problems with her hearing and I was used to adjusting my communication style for her. Further diagnoses of progressive conditions for both of my parents (Parkinson’s for mum and Alzheimer’s for dad) meant that further adjusting would be required in the future. The course was hard, much harder than I had expected, yet I knew that this was it. This was the right path; I was finally finding out how to tackle this uncomfortable idea of misunderstandings.  

Working in a forensic setting

As a Speech and Language Therapy student, having various practical work experience on a placement is a vital part of the learning process. I had found working with children in a primary school lovely, although I did not envisage working with children full time. But when I was offered another school placement at the beginning of the second year, my heart sank; I wanted experience working in an adult setting too. By chance, I heard another student complain that she had been given a placement in a forensic mental health unit but had wanted a placement in a school instead. I jumped at the chance and suggested that we swap, despite not having a clue what ‘forensic mental health unit’ might actually mean in practice.

It meant working with offenders with various mental health difficulties in a medium security setting. That placement was incredibly challenging, but also life changing. It was hard work, unpredictable, often quite depressing, but also rewarding beyond my expectations. I had my first taste of what it was like working with men and women who had gone through the justice system, many of whom, I suspect, had not had the benefit of an intermediary in court to support their understanding and processing of the proceedings or to tell their side (although I did not at the time know what an ‘intermediary’ was).

During the first year after graduating, I came across a job advert for Communicourt working with defendants who have problems with communication. What a curve ball! Reading the job advert, I got goosebumps. They wanted resilient people, who felt passionately about justice and language. The role was about ensuring people with significant communication difficulties, who were defendants or respondents in criminal and family courts, could understand what was happening to them. It was about giving people a voice, and being someone who was able to decode what they wanted to say. Reading that job application, I knew I had to become an intermediary.

I can truly say that my role fulfils all of the areas that I so desperately wanted to work on in my career. The need for empathy is a prerequisite – I would argue that it can be very difficult to understand another person’s point of view unless you are, at least in part, able to put yourself in their shoes. And almost every day, I get to try to untangle some form of misunderstanding; if not one that has already occurred, then attempting to prevent one from happening in the first place.

The vulnerable people I have worked with often feel grateful for the help they receive from an intermediary. But I do not take this for granted. Some feel resentful and some do not care. The best situations have been when the person has felt they have had their say with full understanding, knowing that I helped facilitate this feeling of agency.

As an intermediary, I stand on the side of justice. The person I am in court with must have a chance to fully understand why they are there, and to give their best possible evidence without fear of not being understood or misunderstood. And vice versa, to ensure that justice has been served, the officers must feel confident that they have been able to express (with help) what the accusations are, and equally importantly, that they themselves have understood as much as possible what the defendant’s point of view is.

So my dream job of “taking on misunderstandings” is not always easy. Some days are sad, some days are tiring, particularly when supporting someone give evidence over several days. But I do my job with the knowledge that I am doing my little bit. With empathy and objectivity, and with the knowledge that the vulnerable people get the justice they are entitled to. I wish I could go back and explain that to my kindergarten teacher now.

Are you interested in becoming an intermediary? We are looking for people to join our team. Find out more and how to apply.

As part of a new blog post series, Andrew tells us what inspired him to move across from working as a speech and language therapist at an acute brain injuries unit to become a Court Appointed Intermediary.

So, imagine you are accused of something. You can’t understand what. You don’t know why, and every time you try to explain yourself things just seem to get worse. People dressed in suits saying words you don’t know.

Why am I starting this post by making you think of a Kafkaesque nightmare? Because, if you have communication impairments, sometimes those nightmares can become reality.

My background is in Speech and Language Therapy, I qualified several years ago and spent three and a half years working with adults with communication impairments. Part of this time was spent working on an acute neurological rehabilitation unit with people who suffered from severe impairments.

Hidden disabilities

Unfortunately, a sad truth of brain injuries is that a fair amount of the ways you end up in hospital, may also put you in jail. Fights, road traffic accidents and all other sorts of weird and creative ways of hurting your head, often mean the police need to speak to you.

Now this can make things tricky, because the police have a job to do. If they can see the person they need to speak to is sat up and talking, they may assume they can ask them questions. Unfortunately, that isn’t how communication issues work, they are deeper and often not initially visible. Being able to say words is a key part of communication, but it doesn’t mean that someone’s communication is unimpaired.

Every day at work in the unit, I could see the impact of a lack of awareness of communication impairments. Often in life, the more serious something is, the more complex the language becomes. It is true in hospitals, and it is true in the legal system. In hospitals there are specialists there to support vulnerable people who are making difficult decisions. I wondered what happened to these people in my unit when they left the hospital.

Over the next year or so these questions lingered at the back of my mind. Occasionally I would read a study suggesting that language impairments were high in the young offenders or prison populations, and I would wonder how these people navigated the legal system as defendants.

Then while looking through the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapy’s website, I discovered Communicourt and realised it was something I wanted to be a part of. The aim of the organisation is to raise awareness of the impact of communication impairments on decision making, understanding choices, explaining wishes and making fully informed decisions in the legal system.

Total communication

By using the speech and language approach of providing a “total communication” environment, Intermediaries are able to provide person-centred support. This means making simple changes to our communication and environment so that we can improve interaction and understanding. This can include making sure we use language tailored to the level someone can understand, and thinking about how the lighting or background noise will affect them. Paying attention to body language and how visuals and pictures might aid communication.  We can then make recommendations to the court on the best environment to minimise someone’s anxiety, or assist legal professionals in the best way to phrase questions.

So now I know what happens to these individuals who are facing court proceedings as a defendant. They are supported by a compassionate and dedicated team of Intermediaries. Our aims are to increase understanding and facilitate choice. We break down information into ‘chunks’ that the vulnerable person can understand, and this in turn helps them to make informed decisions and not become overwhelmed.

In short, we help vulnerable people make informed decisions and access the justice system in a way that they wouldn’t be able to without the support of an intermediary. Who wouldn’t want to be part of that?

The theme for this year’s Learning Disability Week is art and creativity. In our latest blog post, Carla and Jodie talk about how we have to be creative in our roles every day to support people with learning disabilities.

As intermediaries, it has always been important to be creative in our role and use strategies to think outside of the box to help support people throughout the court process. With the events of the last 18 months, this has encouraged us to think even more creatively, and develop new and abstract ways of supporting people with learning disabilities in court.

With the introduction of remote hearings, we have had to learn how to support people using a range of online platforms, whilst still providing the same degree of support that we would in a court room. We have also had to adapt our face-to-face practice due to the rules of social distancing. This has meant we cannot be sat as close to the person we are working with, and presents challenges in effectively communicating during proceedings. So, getting creative has been the solution.

For a lot of people with a learning disability, communication can be challenging and being presented with large volumes of verbal information can be overwhelming and difficult to retain. Visual aids are a useful component that intermediaries use every day in court settings to help explain tricky concepts.

Criminal Court

We use visual aids in a variety of different ways, such as, timelines, symbols, or a series of pictures alongside text to enhance understanding. These can be beneficial in supporting understanding and enhancing retention of information, whilst reducing overloading the client with lots of verbal information.  

We work with vulnerable people involved in all different aspects of the criminal justice system, and it is vital that they are able to understand and be involved in every part of their trial. We can assist people from the start of their trial to the end.

For example, we sit with them in the dock, ensuring language used within court and conferences is simple. We make sure they are able to read key documents such as the jury bundle, any questions they have for counsel are noted down and they are able to understand and retain all of the relevant information presented about their case.

If the defendant gives evidence, we will support their communication by monitoring the questions and ensuring that they are in line with the recommendations set out in the report. When necessary, we can intervene to offer suggestions for rephrasing.

Complex language

In criminal court, there is a lot of complex language that can be very difficult for someone with a learning disability to process, understand, and retain.  We always recommend that language is kept simple, however this is not always possible, and that is why we are there to help explain complex terminology and check understanding.

Learning, understanding and a retaining a lot of complex terms can be very cognitively demanding and difficult for someone with a learning disability. Therefore, it is important for intermediaries to use different techniques to help make this process easier and create ways to help understand and remember these complex but important terms.

How we have got creative: Visual aids are a great way to explain complex words, concepts or phrases in a non-verbal way. These can be used to explain a complex phrase alongside a simplified definition, and can act as a memory aid if the client is having difficulties in retaining this later on. For example, mitigating and aggravating factors are commonly mentioned when a defendant is sentenced in criminal court. It is really important that the defendant knows what these terms mean and how they can affect them. This can then be explained using a visual aid:

In this instance, this visual could be shown during their sentencing. Underneath the visual explanation, when ‘mitigating’ factors are raised and ‘aggravating’ factors are discussed, these can be added into the boxes. This would help the defendant understand what things will make their sentence longer or make their sentence shorter.

Attention and concentration

For more serious offenses, trials can last for a long time, requiring the defendant to be in court for long periods of time every day. This can be incredibly difficult for someone with a learning disability, and they will likely find concentration particularly difficult if this involves language which they find difficult to process.

How we have got creative: In supporting an individual’s attention and concentration over long periods of time, we have found creativity and art to be a successful tool. With someone having difficulties sustaining their concentration, the use of a fiddle toy as a sensory activity can greatly support this. Having a physical object as a release of energy can help them remain focussed and attending to the court proceedings better. They can also help support anxiety. This is an essential item for an intermediary’s bag and a great way to help support attention and concentration. Another method we use is providing the defendant with a pen and paper during the proceedings. Having a physical activity such as being able to draw pictures, scribble patterns or even makes notes can help support engagement and assist them to sustain their attention.

Family Court – understanding language

The language used in court is often complex and specific to the court environment, which can make it difficult to follow what is being said. This difficulty is exacerbated for people with learning disabilities, who may use a more limited range of vocabulary in their daily life and be less familiar with the complex vocabulary used in court settings.

Typically an intermediary would provide simple explanations of complex points or vocabulary which are unfamiliar to that person, in real time during the court hearing. This would ordinarily be achieved by sitting next to the client and whispering. These explanations are vital in ensuring the client is able to follow proceedings whilst in court. However, due to social distancing measures in place, this is not always possible in the same way. We need to speak at a louder volume in order for the vulnerable person to hear, which disrupts the court hearing. Therefore, we have to be creative in thinking of ways around this.

How we have got creative: One method many of us have adopted is the use of whiteboards to communicate with the person we are working with. For example, we can draw or write simple definitions on the whiteboard, to show them during the hearing so they have a general understanding in real time. We can then expand on this during an explanation break, where the client can ask any additional questions and we can check their understanding.

This can also be beneficial in creating visual scales, on which the vulnerable person can indicate their level of difficulty with emotional management or their level of understanding.

Remote hearings

Due to the impact of COVID-19, intermediaries are also required to support vulnerable people during remote court hearings. We have been creative in adapting the strategies we use to assist people in these remote settings. For example, by using a separate Zoom meeting link to communicate with the client privately during conferences and sharing our screen. Having this separation from proceedings means that we are able to use the online whiteboard as a visual aid tool to support understanding, rather than solely relying on verbal explanations.

Understanding time and dates

Being able to follow and refer to specific dates within a sequence of events is often a difficulty for people with learning disabilities participating in court proceedings.

Case study – an example of how visual aids assisted a vulnerable person with learning difficulties to understand dates and sequencing concepts:

John* (name has been changed for confidentiality) was involved in family court proceedings. During the hearing, there were various dates spanning a number of years which were relevant to the issues being discussed. Due to his difficulties, John struggled to follow the dates being discussed and would often confuse the order of events. This made it difficult for him to follow the case that was being put against him, as well as providing instructions. The intermediary created a timeline of the key dates which had been identified by his legal team. Due to his learning difficulties, he had limited literacy skills. The intermediary therefore added pictures or symbols to some of the events on the timeline, eg a BBQ or picture of a phone. This assisted John in navigating the sequence of events, and he was able to interact with the visual aid and use it to ask questions or provide instructions. For example, he could indicate if an event happened between Christmas and the house move on the timeline, even if he could not provide a specific date. Without the assistance of the visual aid, he had not been able to provide such clear instructions previously.

A timeline, similar to that pictured above, was able to be agreed by all parties and was used by John to assist him in understanding the evidence of others, provide instructions as well as to support him in understanding the questions put to him during his own evidence.

A typical working day for an intermediary involves collaborative working with a range of professionals within the legal system. This post from Kathryn and Jodie talks about how intermediaries work with advocates and interpreters.

As intermediaries, we travel all over the country working on different cases and come in to contact with numerous other professionals on a daily basis. These include solicitors, barristers, judges, court clerks and ushers, as well as professionals from the probation service and youth offending teams.

A typical working day therefore involves collaborative working with a range of professionals within the legal system. We sometimes assist people who also require the services of an interpreter, or the support of an independent advocate. In these instances, it is necessary for us to adapt our practice and consider how we can best work with the interpreter or advocate to ensure that the vulnerable person is supported effectively.

Independent advocate

Independent advocates support vulnerable people in meetings and appointments throughout the court process, as well as in court itself. They listen to the vulnerable person’s point of view, help them think about their options and help them access services. Advocates often work with someone for a long period of time and develop a good rapport and a detailed understanding of their background, circumstances and needs.

Why might someone need an advocate and an intermediary?

There are many parallels between the intermediary and advocate roles, however there are also a number of distinct differences. It is important when someone is supported by both an intermediary and an advocate at court, the two roles are clearly defined. An advocate is likely to assist with emotional support and management, which may involve going for a walk with the vulnerable person or eating lunch together. An advocate may also assist with practical arrangements, such as transport to and from court, and ensuring the vulnerable person comes prepared with everything they will need.

As communication specialists, intermediaries focus on ensuring the vulnerable person is able to understand and effectively participate whilst in court. Intermediaries provide recommendations and updates to the court regarding the vulnerable person’s participation in proceedings and assist the vulnerable person whilst they give evidence. Therefore, someone who is supported by an advocate and an intermediary will have a range of support, both in and out of court.

How do we adapt our practice when working with an advocate?

It is important that the intermediary also has a chance to build rapport with the vulnerable person and explain how their role differs from the role of an advocate. This may take some time, so it is helpful to set aside plenty of time at the start of the hearing for everyone to meet, explain their roles and develop a positive working relationship.

A case study: Chloe

Chloe* had a diagnosis of autism and had been working with an advocate for a significant period of time. Her advocate supported her in attending the appointment for the intermediary assessment. During the meeting, Chloe expressed concern about possibly experiencing a “meltdown” in court due to the stress of the situation.

Chloe was able to provide some detail as to how she would feel if she experienced a meltdown but had difficulty explaining indicators that she was struggling or management strategies. She asked for her advocate’s help in explaining this to the intermediary. Having supported Chloe for a long time, the advocate was able to provide valuable information regarding signs that a meltdown may be imminent and how others can help Chloe when this happens. The detailed information provided by Chloe and her advocate was included in the intermediary report and informed some of the recommendations made to assist Chloe at court, ensuring she could be effectively supported.

A case study: Sarah

Sarah* was a respondent in care proceedings. She was supported by a team of advocates in the months leading up to the court hearing and at the hearing itself. Sarah’s advocates assisted her to travel to and from the hearing each day, as well as spending lunch times with her.

Sarah found the process of attending the hearing and listening to evidence quite overwhelming and at times she became very emotional. Having support from her advocates outside of court hours was hugely beneficial, both in a practical sense and in terms of the emotional support that they were able to provide. As a result, Sarah attended each day of the hearing and remained present for the full court day. Sarah knew that she could take a break and spend time with her advocates when she was having difficulties with emotional management. This stopped her from becoming overwhelmed and allowed her to focus on the evidence and engage with the intermediary’s explanations whilst in the hearing.

When it was Sarah’s turn to give oral evidence, she was very nervous. Her advocate was able to encourage her to enter the court building, and eventually the courtroom itself. During Sarah’s evidence the intermediary assisted her to understand questions and give her answers, and navigate and understand documents within the court bundle. Her advocate remained in her line of sight for reassurance. The intermediary would not have been able to effectively carry out their role at this stage of proceedings if it were not for the support of her advocate in getting her into the courtroom.

*Names have been changed for confidentiality.

Interpreters

An interpreter supports someone at court by translating everything that is said into the person’s primary language in real time. The interpreter takes an oath to translate everything that is said, word for word.

How do we adapt our practice when working with an interpreter?

When working in court or during assessments, it is essential that the intermediary and interpreter understand each other’s roles in order to support the vulnerable person effectively. We need to have a good level of communication with interpreters about what we are asking them to do (e.g. speak at a slow pace) as we rely on them to enable us to assist the vulnerable person.

Sometimes we may require an interpreter to interpret just our simplifications (e.g. during complex expert evidence or legal arguments). As this is significantly different to how they would normally carry out their role, it is important to have a discussion with the interpreter at the outset about the reasons why this is necessary (e.g. to stop the vulnerable person from becoming overloaded). This may need to be raised with the judge and agreed upon before the hearing begins.

To assist with explanations, we typically use visual aids alongside verbal explanations. These visual aids often contain some simple words. We may therefore need to ask an interpreter to assist us in making these visual aids, such as a simplified order of proceedings.

A case study: Mary

Mary* was a respondent in a family court case, who required assistance from an interpreter. When the interpreter arrived, the intermediary was able to have a detailed discussion with her about their respective roles before they began working with Mary. This ensured there was an understanding of what the interpreter and the intermediary were trying to achieve and how they could work together to achieve this.

The interpreter translated the intermediary’s simplified points word for word, without extra explanation. She would inform the intermediary when Mary said she was confused and highlight when a particular word did not translate well in Mary’s primary language. This meant that the intermediary was aware if there was a slight difference in meaning or if it would be better to change the vocabulary and helped to avoid miscommunication

There were also occasions when Mary would say something which did not appear to make sense when translated into English. The interpreter would translate word for word and then advise the intermediary if the phrase is commonly used in Mary’s primary language and explain the meaning. The intermediary was then able to check if this is what Mary had meant when using the phrase to ensure they had understood her answer correctly.

A case study: John

John* was referred for an intermediary assessment and required the assistance of an interpreter during the meeting. Carrying out a thorough assessment of an individual’s communication abilities is imperative to ensuring that they receive the appropriate support at court. The intermediary adapted their assessment materials prior to the meeting, to ensure that all areas of communication could be assessed. For example, they wrote out task instructions so that the interpreter could verbally translate these into John’s primary language. This meant that John did not have to first hear the intermediary give the instructions in English, which may have caused him to become overloaded. As such, he was able to understand and participate in all of the assessment tasks.

Throughout the assessment, John often asked for clarification or for questions to be repeated; at times he struggled to hear what the interpreter was saying. The interpreter translated everything that John said word for word, to ensure that the intermediary was aware when an issue arose. The intermediary was therefore able to establish whether John had not understood the question and required it to be rephrased, or had not heard the question and required the interpreter to speak louder. This assisted them to identify words and grammatical structures that John did not understand and ensured that the intermediary did not misinterpret a request to speak louder as a lack of understanding. 

*Names have been changed for confidentiality

At Communicourt, we are always reflecting on our practice and learning from each other to ensure that we can effectively facilitate communication in court. Working alongside interpreters and advocates is a regular occurrence, so we have established working practices and guidance that ensure we can successfully collaborate with these professionals.

The effect of COVID-19 restrictions has been seismic across UK justice system. Lockdowns and reduced court capacities have contributed to the backlog of Crown court cases which is now in excess of 57,000 cases. In a bid to clear this backlog, the Ministry of Justice has recently announced they are removing the cap on judicial sitting days for the next financial year. As restrictions ease, it will be interesting to see how working practices will change for the courts as we all try to recover.

On 17^th March 2021, the Lord Chief Justice published a message concerning the evolving COVID-19 landscape at court, following the lifting of the latest national lockdown. After a year of restrictions, the Government has issued a new recovery roadmap. If this roadmap can be safely followed, the courts could see further change in COVID-19 policy in the coming weeks and months, as regulations gradually relax.

The Lord Chief Justice notes, “Over the next few weeks and months as the number of people who have been vaccinated against COVID increases and restrictions begin to ease across England and Wales, it will be possible and desirable to increase attendance in person where it is safe and in the interests of justice. This will be important to maximise the throughput of work”.

Returning to court – a “mixed bag”

Evidently, many in the legal professions are keen to return to in-person working. Fewer technical difficulties, less opportunity for miscommunication and greater capacity are among the many benefits of court-based hearings. For others, however, a return to court will mean an increase in health concerns, greater demands on legal professionals’ time (due to travel) and a less flexible approach to working.

These sentiments are echoed by some at Communicourt. While a great number of clients with communication difficulties undoubtedly benefit from attending court in-person, remote working has broadened options for assisting vulnerable defendants and respondents. For instance, courts have been more open to allowing respondents in family matters to attend remotely, which can assist those whose communication difficulties are exacerbated by anxiety (for example, those with Autistic Spectrum Condition, who may find new environments emotionally dysregulating).

In other cases, intermediaries working with clients who benefit from live simplification during proceedings have felt somewhat stymied by the two-metre distancing rule and by mask-wearing. Live simplification requires intermediaries to explain complex vocabulary and concepts in real-time, using whispered explanations, simple notes and drawings. COVID-19 measures often hamper live simplification, as whispering and sharing notes or diagrams is impractical at two metres.

In such cases, working with a respondent in a private conference room (at court or at a solicitors’ office) allows intermediaries to provide live explanation, without disruption to the court. In some instances, this ‘conference room’ working style allows for more dynamic communication between the client and intermediary, improving overall understanding.

While there is no doubt that returning to court will be of benefit to many vulnerable respondents and defendants, a possible reduction in flexibility regarding their attendance may be an unexpected downside to relaxing regulations.

Current and changing COVID-19 court practice

Whatever your views on the return to courtroom, it is imminent (bar fresh lockdowns and restrictions). So, what awaits legal professionals and service users returning to court after months of remote hearings? Current cross-judicial guidance (as per the 23^rd March 2020) and updating guidance from January 2021 is as follows:

• Mask-wearing is required when:
  • In public areas of the court buildings
  • When moving around the court building
  • In court, unless they are a witness giving evidence or lead advocate for prosecution or defence. Other courtroom personnel may wear a mask at this stage, at their discretion.
    
    
• Measures ensuring safety when entering court buildings include:
  • Two metre distances between all individuals queuing to enter court buildings (and between court users and court security).
  • Direct access for court professionals upon presentation of an ID badge (at some courts) to reduce contact with security.
  • Security to wear gloves and regularly to clean trays for visitors’ belongings.
    
    
• Handwashing and court hygiene measures include:
  • Sufficient supply of hand wash and paper towels (or automatic hand dryers) for all who will be in the building.
  • Judges to permit a break to accommodate handwashing, approximately every two hours.
  • Regular cleaning of all surfaces touched by people using the building: bannisters, doors and door handles, counsel’s bench, conference room furniture (approximately every two hours)
    
    
• Other measures:
  • No sharing of documents, iPads, holy books, oath laminated sheets etc.
  • If the public galleries can’t accommodate two metre distancing, a queuing system is recommended (unless video link is available). If it isn’t possible there will be fewer people in the public gallery.
  • No court-supplied water carafes anywhere. Although courts now provide bottled water, court users should bring their own bottles to ensure they can stay hydrated.

In addition to these measures, court users could see further changes, including:

• More testing from mid-April 2021
  The national capability for COVID-19 testing has increased. HMCTS is now encouraging all court users to access testing available to them, on a regular basis. All courts and tribunals will soon offer home test kits for collection for all professional court users, legal professionals, judiciary, contractors, jurors, witness services and staff who attend scheduled hearings. Read HMCTS testing update here.
  
  
• Fluid Resistant Surgical Masks (FRSMs) in custody suites
  These masks will be supplied to professional court users on entry to custody suites. They are to be used in conjunction with the existing safety measures.

By Sarah Smith

Most people think they know what epilepsy is and that it causes seizures, but these seizures can also lead to temporary loss of function in one or more parts of the brain. These parts are often involved in understanding, organisation, and communication processing.

We often work with vulnerable people in the court system who have epilepsy, and they need support in a number of ways. There are more than 40 different types of epilepsy syndromes and many have associated language difficulties.

Communication difficulties may include:

• Comprehension – Difficulty understanding what someone is saying. A person may struggle to understand environmental cues or routines.
• Expression – It may be difficult to communicate with other people using body language or facial expressions. This could be because a person has slurred speech, or difficulties with social interaction.
• Listening – Some people may find it hard to pay attention and listen to a person or an activity.

Communication difficulties can also arise suddenly, due to changes in a person’s medication. They can be connected to stress or other trigger factors. They may be due to epileptogenic activity in the brain that doesn’t necessarily appear as a seizure.

How can an intermediary help?

An intermediary needs to understand how epilepsy affects the person they are working with. Do they have seizures? What type of seizures do they have? Do they know of any triggers? What is their concentration like? What medication do they take and when? Are there any side effects?

Some people have insight into their difficulties, for others it’s a learning curve, and a very quick one that we need to adapt to. Exploring this with them so we can make recommendations on how best to adapt the court room, is crucial.

It can be beneficial to arrange a preliminary visit to the court room to reduce any anxiety surrounding the court environment. It also gives us an opportunity to work out the best seating arrangements for the vulnerable person. Going through the roles of court professionals and a simplified witness template to reduce any anxiety around the proceedings is also something we can do in advance.

We need to consider the lighting and any other triggers in the room, and if there are any hard surfaces around that might cause an injury if the vulnerable person is susceptible to atonic seizures.  

What can be put in place?

The Ground Rules Hearing is typically when we would cover the formalities. Can we ask for emergency break if the vulnerable person is showing signs of the onset of a seizure? If so, do we have a room they can be escorted to where they are safe and there are no triggers. For example, does the room have automatic lights or is there a switch we can turn off?

Often, having the reassurance of regular breaks and court professionals being made aware of their epilepsy can reduce the anxiety around having a seizure. This will also help the person to focus on the discussions in court. It can also afford that person time to take their medication or for someone who may have difficulty processing information quickly, time to absorb what has happened in each court session.

Our role is to ensure that vulnerable person is able to participate in proceedings, and for them to do so effectively, we need to monitor their presentation closely to notice any cues for a seizure. It could be a slight change in body language, a scrunching of the hands or a blank stare. Although we try our best, we may not always be aware when a seizure has happened, so being there to fill in the blanks during conferences outside of court is important. We can develop a court diary so the person, who may have poor retention, is able to reflect on the day’s events and come to court the following morning with questions.

If a seizure happens, this can affect a person’s communication abilities in a number of ways. The main point being their concentration. Some court users are not able to return to court that day, some, need 20 minutes to process what has happened. Our role is to update the court on the person’s presentation and make recommendations such as shorter court days, or later starts, to ensure they are able to concentrate and engage in proceedings.

Our reports and updates to the court are personalised to the needs of the vulnerable person we are working with. The strategies we develop are constantly being reviewed to ensure that person is given the fairest opportunity to participate in their proceedings, have the best opportunity to understand what is happening and achieve their best possible evidence. 

Sophie Tompson and Jen Clark

Judy Singer first coined the phrase ‘neurodiversity’in the late 1990’s. Singer was a sociologist whose daughter had a diagnosis of autism, but Singer didn’t believe this to be a disability. She believed that all minds are unique and there are infinite numbers of variations on how the mind is works. She believed that variations from ‘neurotypical’ did not automatically mean a disability, but rather a difference.

This week is Neurodiversity Celebration Week and we are admiring how all of our beautiful minds differ. For some neurodiversity is a disability, but for a lot of people it is a difference that should be acknowledged and accommodated.

As part of our work as intermediaries, we are always working to accommodate people’s diverse communication needs. To mark this week, we are sharing two experiences of our work with neurodiverse people to ensure they were able to participate in their legal proceedings.

Working with people with ADHD during assessments

ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder) is one of the most common neurodivergent diagnoses in children and can often continue through adolescence and adulthood. Inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity are the key behaviours that a person with ADHD is likely to exhibit.

A typical Communicourt intermediary assessment takes between one and three hours, and concentrating for this period of time will be challenging for a person who is diagnosed with an attentional disorder such as ADHD. When you throw in the fact that we have had to conduct many of our assessments remotely via a video platform during the last 12 months, the task becomes increasingly difficult. 

During a face-to-face assessment, the intermediary would ensure the environment is best suited to the formal assessment. This would include removing physical objects which are likely to distract the neurodivergent person. Asking someone with ADHD to attend an assessment remotely from their home gives us limited control over the environment. We can’t guarantee the person will be in a private room, free from disruptions or distractions.

Keeping focus

A person with ADHD is likely to have more difficulty in controlling their impulses than a person who is neurotypical. For example, where a neurotypical person may feel compelled to sit in a fixed position for the duration of the assessment, a person with ADHD may be less able to control their urge to wander around their home and pick up their belongings.

At the outset of the meeting, the intermediary will ask the neurodivergent person to go to a private space and ensure that they are available for the expected duration of the meeting. They will be encouraged to make themselves comfortable and prop up their device so that they do not have to hold it for the entire length of the meeting. The hope is that once the device is in a more ‘fixed’ position, they will be less inclined to wander around their home.

If they move into an unsuitable setting during the assessment, the intermediary may implement a break and ask them to return to the private setting before they continue.

The intermediary may create a visual checklist of the assessment topics and show this to the neurodivergent person when explaining the process of the assessment. After each task, the intermediary may refer them back to this visual checklist and cross off the task that has been completed.

Evidence suggests that people with ADHD may be assisted to maintain focus if they are given a small object to fiddle with. The intermediary may encourage a neurodivergent person to find a small household object to fiddle with during the meeting, for example, a piece of blue tac, an elastic band, or a pen. This strategy occupies their hands and makes it less likely that they will be compelled to pick up other (more distracting) objects or carry out other tasks.

The intermediary will implement frequent, short breaks throughout the meeting to assist with attention and concentration. Should the neurodivergent person become particularly distracted, the intermediary may enforce a longer break and encourage them to turn their camera off or leave the room to allow them a full rest break.

Sam’s assessment

This is an example from a remote assessment with Sam*, a young man diagnosed with ADHD. During an expressive language task, the intermediary asked Sam to detail “every little step” involved in making a cup of tea. Sam took this request particularly literally and responded, “Well why would I tell you when I could show you?” and proceeded to take the intermediary through to the kitchen (on their iPad). Once in the kitchen, Sam became increasingly distracted by the environment and gave the intermediary a ‘tour’ of his kitchen cupboards. The intermediary prompted Sam to talk them through the steps whilst he was making his cup of tea.

Once the task was complete, Sam began making himself some toast. The intermediary implemented a short break and asked Sam to return to his previous seating position once he had eaten. Upon Sam’s return, the intermediary showed Sam the visual checklist and explained there were only two more tasks to go. Sam was able to refocus his attention and participate for the remainder of the assessment.

Working with people with autism at court

Autism is a diagnosis which is attributed to three main characteristics: social interaction, social communication, and repetitive behaviours. It is more prevalent for men and can present with different characteristics for women.

We do not implement communication strategies based on diagnoses, we focus on our assessed communication profile of each person, taking into account their individual abilities and difficulties. Here are some of the areas where autistic people may need support, and the strategies we may employ to help them. 

Social communication:

An autistic person may find it hard to process nonverbal cues, such as facial expressions and tone of voice. So it is essential these nuances in communication are explained within court. For example, if someone is being sarcastic, some autistic people will find this difficult to identify.

Additionally, some autistic people have strong language skills, but find it hard to understand what is expected of them within a communication exchange. They may repeat information using the same words or become tangential on a topic they prefer. When supporting vulnerable people to either give instructions or during evidence, it is important to signpost topics to focus their attention and when required prompt them to use their own words.

Some autistic people find it easier to understand and process information, but might struggle to express themselves. Multiple strategies can be initiated for people with expressive difficulties, such as more frequent breaks, being given an adequate time to process and answer questions, using more specific prompt questions to elicit more detail and so on.

Social Interaction

Some autistic people may find it difficult to recognise other people’s feelings and emotions, or to express their own. If this is the case with someone we are supporting, it is usually raised within the report and during the ground rules hearing, so those within court do not draw negative inference due to difficulties displaying or processing emotion. Also, in court sometimes it is appropriate to ask what emotions a witness is displaying, to check that the autistic person is processing this additional information, and if not it can be explained.

Another presentation for autistic people is feeling overwhelmed by social interaction and difficulty forming close connections. Within court this can be managed with more regular breaks to ensure they can have rest time where they are not required to communicate with anyone. On top of this the intermediary can request additional time to get to know the autistic person to try and build a rapport with them before court starts.

Repetitive behaviours

Autistic people may favour a routine and do not like to deviate from this. For example, they can prefer to eat the same meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner or walk a certain way to work.

To try and support this, intermediaries can request either a timetable of proceedings (family court) or an order of scheduling (criminal court) which outlines the flow of proceedings. This can be transformed into a visual timeline that can be edited to try and support any difficulties with change. We explain that the timetable may change (and often does) but being able to edit a document so they know what is happening each day can support.

Working with Linda in court

Linda* was a first-time young mother who had a diagnosis of autism. We worked together on a week-long family case with the support of her advocate (an advocate is an individual who has worked with Linda for longer and is there for emotional management).

Linda could process information well, but had difficulty understanding the intricacies of conversations, retaining information and taking language at its literal meaning. 

As an intermediary, it is crucial that we don’t just look at a diagnosis, but instead consider the differences in communication profiles for each person and tailor our support to that. It was essential that information could be repeated for Linda, and that we had the opportunity to talk whilst court was in session in case she misinterpreted information.

Due to Covid restrictions, the case was being held remotely using video conferencing. At a Ground Rules Hearing the Judge presiding over the case agreed that Linda and I could be in the same room when joining the hearing remotely. Other strategies of support were also discussed, such as the advocate attending in person, the frequency of breaks and how I would update the court as to the usefulness of these strategies.

One area where Linda required more support was interpreting and understanding figurative and complex language used within court. Linda often processed figurative language at its literal meaning. For example, during the court hearing they were discussing arriving at a house. Linda was adamant that this was not true, as they did not arrive at the house but were on the road outside. This meant that she was fixating on a detail that was not as important as the point being made.

I requested a short break so I could clarify the point to her. I was required to explain this difference in meaning to Linda and refocus her attention to the point being raised. I reassured her that I would highlight this difference to her barrister, who later in court clarified the point that they came to the road outside the house. This example shows a difference in interpreting and understanding information that is not wrong, but could lead to a breakdown in communication. Our role is to be aware of when these miscommunications may occur depending on our vulnerable person’s needs and implement strategies to ensure information is not misinterpreted.

*Names have been changed to protect identities