ASHA, Other CSD Organizations, Collaborate to Raise Communication Disability at the UN

Miles Forma really doesn’t like when people think he is stupid because he’s unable to talk. “I’ve had many experiences in my life where people assumed because I am a non-speaking person and sit in a wheelchair, I’m not intelligent,” Forma said recently using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). The young man wasn’t saying this to just anybody. His audience included people with the power to change things—attendees at a major conference on disability at United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York a few weeks ago. Mike Froma addresses the United Nations Forma was a presenter at a session—or “side event” in UN parlance—hosted by the International Communication Project (ICP), an initiative ASHA helped found. This ICP event—People With Communication Disabilities Speak Up For Inclusion and Participation—was co-sponsored by the government of Australia and organized by two other ICP founders, Speech Pathology Australia (SPA) and the Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists, with help from ASHA. Gail Mulcair, chief executive officer of SPA, presented alongside Forma, and Derek Munn, director of public policy and public affairs at the Royal College, moderated. Forma wasn’t the only AAC user who had his say at the ICP event. Meredith Allan, president of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication, also presented. “Probably the most important issue in the use of AAC is getting communication access recogniz...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Tags: Academia & Research Advocacy Audiology Health Care News Private Practice Schools Slider Speech-Language Pathology Augmentative Alternative Communication Language Disorders Professional Development Speech Disorders Source Type: blogs