Video of the Week: Communication Access as a Social Justice Issue

Curb cuts and ramps are standard accommodations in many parts of the world to reduce barriers to mobility. That’s important, of course, but what about the millions of people who are handicapped by barriers to communication?

As AAC practitioners, we generally get so wrapped up in addressing the needs of individual clients on our caseloads that we rarely take time to consider the ways in which we can impact systemic barriers to effective communication. We are quite mindful that people with AAC needs struggle to communicate when they leave our therapy sessions and go about their lives and onto the business of learning, playing, and working. We are cognizant of the barriers they face and put on our best problem-solving hats to help them cope. Client by client. Issue by issue. If you’ve lamented “There has to be a better way,” you’re not alone.

It seems overwhelming to think about it, but as individual clinicians, we can play a role to change the big systems that erect barriers to effective communication in commerce, housing, healthcare, and education. Sometimes, the first step in making a difference comes from seeing the problem in new ways.

In today’s video, we turn to Canadian SLP Barbara Collier, who helps us re-think communication access as a social justice issue.  Many, many thanks to USSAAC for hosting this important webinar and to ISAAC for their support in making it available. You can explore some of the resources developed by Barbara and her team here.

Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGl-zer7HFo