Bedside & Support Sheets · One-Page View
One-Question-at-a-Time Sheet
Helping supporters communicate in a way that costs the least to process.
A keep-close version. Read it here, or screenshot this page to have it on your phone — print and PDF copies will appear once final files are attached.
A short teaching sheet for supporters: how to ask questions when processing is difficult. It includes the examples, so it can be handed over as it is.
What helps
- One question at a time
- Short, simple sentences
- Yes / no questions where possible
- A pause between topics — the waiting is part of the question
- Writing it down instead of asking out loud
- Saying what's about to happen ('I'm going to open the curtains now')
- Not reading a slow reply as a no
Instead of / try
The example pair, kept visible for whoever needs it.
Instead of (several at once)
e.g. “What do you want to eat, do you need medication, and should I open the curtains?”
Try (one, then wait)
e.g. “Would you like a drink?” … wait for the answer … “Would you like food?”
Several small questions asked together become one large demand. Spacing them out isn't going slowly — it's communicating at the size that works.