Welcome.
Come in.
I am glad you are here.
How are you today, as you begin reading about culture, language, and identity in speech-language pathology?
I hope everything is wonderful in your world!
I hope things are good. I hope you are safe and happy and feeling good about yourself and your life. I hope you are comfortable and excited and ready to think a bit about culture and our profession.
But I understand. Things might not be so great.
You might be hurting. You might be distracted or anxious.
You might be focused, scanning this text for a short answer to a specific question.
Or you might be straightforwardly upset that you have been required to take a cultural issues course or assigned to read something from a culture and identity website, because you frankly do not see the point or the need.
That’s okay.
Whoever you are, wherever you are starting, whatever you are feeling: That’s okay.
As speech-language pathologists, we are each individuals. We have our own histories, our own lives — our own needs, journeys, goals, and opinions. We start from there, as we start our work.
But that’s only the beginning!
Regardless of our individual starting points and current goals, we as speech-language pathologists in the United States are also all working with many other people. We are individuals, yes, with our individual experiences and opinions. But in addition, as a group, we live and work within a shared dynamic context that combines continually-evolving societal norms, expectations, requirements, regulations, laws, and events.
Our society’s history and our profession’s history shape our current practice. Our clients and colleagues bring their own histories, lives, needs, journeys, goals, and opinions. Practicing speech-language pathology does not mean sitting alone, focusing on ourselves. Speech-language pathology and communication care mean thinking about other people and working with other people. We live and work surrounded by culture, language, and identities — our own, our clients’, our colleagues’, and our society’s.
In other words: Our work as speech-language pathologists requires us to engage routinely and thoughtfully with everything that culture, language, and identity can mean.
So come in!
I am glad you are here. You, the unique and special you that you are. Whichever cultures you bring, whichever languages you bring, whichever individual identities you bring: I am glad you are here. Join us.
The 27 modules collected in this website focus on culturally, linguistically, and individually appropriate speech-language pathology, which I equate with high-quality, effective, ethical, individualized and professional efforts to help all people and each person with their speech, language, and related needs. Call it “whole-person speech-language pathology,” if you like. Call it “personalized communication care.”
Regardless of what we call it, culture, language, and identity serve as the foundation of everything we do. So the first four Sections of this website address some models, thought processes, standards, and requirements about culture, language, and identity. Building on that information, we will then address some ideas for clinical (Section Five) and professional (Section Six) applications — and then, finally, in Section Seven, we will end by thinking about how we want to go forward. Feel free to read these modules in order from 1 to 27, or feel free to jump around as much as you like.
Whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever your starting point might be and whatever your goals might be – My hope is that you might find something here to make you think. Culture, language, and identity might be in the news as you read, but these topics are not important because they are trendy. They are important, and they have always been important, because they shape who we are, who our clients and colleagues are, and what our profession can achieve.
Let’s get started.
Okay… so… now what?
First, make yourself a cup of tea, or grab your water bottle, or whatever makes you feel good. Then sit back and read for a while. Then talk to your friends, colleagues, students, instructors, and supervisors about what you found. Maybe even try something new at work tomorrow, based on what you read!
How is it organized?
This website is basically a large textbook, or the content for a couple semesters’ worth of classes. It is long. On purpose. We are thinking about culture, language, identity, communication, therapy, people, and speech-language pathology — lots of important material to consider and lots of important questions to ask.
To try to help you find the parts you want to find, this website is organized using seven larger “Sections,” each of which contains three to six “modules.” I’ve tried to build in several navigation options, so I hope at least one of them is a good fit for your brain.
The Home page is always linked in the header and in the footer. The Home page has a list of the seven Sections, with descriptions and links.
The Sections links in the header will get you to the landing page for any of the seven Sections. From there, you can read about that Section, read about the modules in that Section, and get to any of the individual modules in that Section.
The List page that is linked in the header is a complete but plain Table of Contents, with links to all Sections and all 27 modules (but no descriptions or explanations).
Watch for the navigation buttons at the bottom of most pages, too.
Caveats and Disclaimers
This website focuses on speech-language pathology in the United States. I would be delighted to learn that other people are reading, but my intent was to develop materials that fit the specific cultural, linguistic, clinical, professional, and instructional needs and concerns of speech-language professionals and students in the U.S.
My jobs have informed my professional opinions, but I do not speak for the University of Georgia, for Athens Technical College, or for any of their departments or units. Similarly, parts of this website use and expand on materials provided by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and by their associated Council on Academic Accreditation, but I have no authority at all to speak for either of those entities. The opinions expressed in this website are my own and do not reflect any position held or not held by any other person, institution, or organization.
If you are here because you have a specific question about how to work with a specific “kind” of client, you probably will not find the specific answer you are looking for in these pages. That’s not my approach, and that’s not how this website is designed (see Module 5 to help you understand why, or you might find parts of Section Five to approach the information you thought you were looking for). But stick with us! Culture, language, and identity mean much more than “What do they believe?” or “How should I do assessment with them?” We’ll help you develop your own answers in ways that will benefit you, your clients, your practice, and our profession.
And this site is absolutely a work in progress! (See the Blog.) You’re going to find blank pages and incorrect links. Sorry. I’m working on that.