Establish Rapport
Equalize the relationship
Ask the AV where they’d like you to sit, what they’d like to be called, and other preference questions which empower the AV. Tell the AV what to call you.
Help the AV deal with problems anticipated during the interview process
For instance, if AV experiences speech difficulties, you might say, “we’re new to each other. Sometimes I have trouble understanding people who are new to me. If I don’t understand something you say, I’ll ask you to repeat it. If you don’t understand something I say, you can ask me to repeat it, too.”
Preparation
- Tell the AV why you need to talk with him or her.
- For AV’s with good verbal skills and cognitive abilities, ask open-ended questions.
- For AV’s with limited verbal skills or cognitive impairments, the questions may need to be more specific.
- If there is a history of lying or fantasizing or the AV has trouble distinguishing between truth and fiction, AV’s responses to this discussion must be clearly documented to assist in establishing credibility.
Establishing Common Language
- Ask client to name body parts.
- Use the client’s names for body parts throughout the interview.
- Use sentence structure and words similar to those the AV uses.
Interview Questions
Sleeping
- Where do you sleep?
- Do you have your own bed and/or room?
- Who sleeps with you?
- What time do you go to bed?
- When do others go to bed?
- What do you wear to bed?
- Where do others sleep?
Eating
- What do you eat?
- When do you eat?
- Who fixes your food?
- Who eats with you?
- Do you choose what you get to eat?
- Do you like everything you eat?
Money
- Who takes care of your money?
- Who spends your money?
- What happens to your money?
Note: Money may be in forms other than cash – candy bars, cookies, pop, etc.
Personal Hygiene
- Do you dress/bathe/shave yourself?
- Does anyone help you dress/bathe/shave?
- Who helps you?
- What does that person do to help?
- How does it feel when that person does that?
Substance Abuse
- What kinds of medicine do you take?
- Who gives your medicine to you?
- When do you take your medicine?
- Do you drink alcohol? What kind?
- How do you feel when you drink alcohol?
- Does anyone you know drink alcohol? Who?
- What are they like when they drink?
- Do you use drugs? What kind?
- How do you feel when you use drugs?
- Does anyone you know use drugs? Who?
- What are they like when they’re using drugs?
- How do you feel when you are around these people when they are using drugs/drinking?
Sexual Activity
- Does anyone ever touch you on your (AV’s name for genitalia)?
Who? - What happens when they touch you there?
- How do you feel about this touching?
- Has anyone touched you in a way that hurt you? Who?
- Where did he/she touch you?
- What did he/she touch you with?
- Did you take your clothes off?
- Did anyone take your clothes off? Who?
- What clothes?
- Did the person who touched you take his/her clothes off?
- What clothes did they take off?
- What did you see?
- Did that person tell you to do something? What?
- Did you do it?
- How did that make you feel?
- Does someone else touch you on (genitals)? Who?
