February is Black History Month. Not only is it a month of furthering our knowledge about important people and events related to African American History, but also a month to uplift and support Black voices and businesses. As Speech Language Pathologists, we play an integral role in ensuring all of our client’s voices are empowered and celebrated. This includes personalizing our sessions to their identity and making an effort to learn about their ancestral history. It is our responsibility to do the work and research how our sessions should be tailored to account for race in order to provide best-practice individualized therapy.
The best way one can learn about the ‘Black Experience’ is by following and keeping up with our Black SLP colleagues via social media. Not only have many Black SLPs done the work of summarizing ways SLPs can tailor sessions to accommodate for Black clients, they also share their real experiences regarding the stigma they face as Black clinicians in a White-dominated Healthcare field.
Resources on Instagram
@unlearnwithme.theslp
@theblackspeechie
@thelisteningslp
@jrc_theslp
@speechandhealth
@speechsleeprepeat
@speakingofsamantics
@thebuckeyeslp
@speak.fromtheheart
@theslpway
@slpsofcolors
@Beyondbabbles
@Missatheslp
@Metaylorspeech
@teachspeechservices
@Ianessahumbert
Resources on Tiktok
@slpcamille
@jrc_theslp
@singingslp
@speakingofsamantics
Podcasts:
1. Brain Friends Podcast
2. Being Black & SLP
Youtube:
Facebook group:
Another way to celebrate Black History Month is by ensuring the resources used in our sessions are diverse. We want our clients to interact with books and activities that showcase characters that look like them.
Books:
Please, Baby, Please by Tonya Lewis Lee
Whose Toes are Those? by Jabari Asim
Dream Big, Little One by Vashti Harrison
Parker Looks Up: An Extraordinary Moment by Jessica Curry, Parker Curry
The King of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes
Cool Cuts by Mechal Renee Roe
Big Hair, Don't Care by Crystal Swain-Bates
Layla's Happiness by Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie
Please, puppy, please by Tonya Lewis Lee
Liam's First Cut by Taye Jones
Shady Baby by Gabrielle Union
Noelle Finds Her Voice by Sabine Barlatt
The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
KINDergarten: Where Kindness Matters Every Day by Vera Ahiyya
You Have a Voice by Vera Ahiyya
Blog posts:
4. https://www.metheslp.com/post/how-i-ended-up-in-the-whitest-profession-and-why-i-m-not-going-anywhere
Activities you can use during your sessions:
Moreover, as clinicians we have to ensure cultural competence during all stages of interactions with our clients. This starts during assessment and carried throughout treatment. This includes, accounting for African American English (AAE) Vernacular and understanding that speech and language variations based on race and/or culture are not disordered. We must ensure influence of culture and race during treatment.
Related Research Articles
3. https://etd.ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_etd/send_file/send?accession=osu1487171978759078&disposition=inline
6. Sustained efforts in racial transformation: A call to action to train students in Communication Sciences and Disorders.
7. Me and microaggressions: A Framework for overcoming microaggressions in Communication Sciences and Disorders Academic Programs.
9. The prevalence and correlates of involvement in the criminal justice system among youth on the autism spectrum.
Finally, we have to use our roles where it counts. We must support and stand up when we see racism and discrimination occurring in our field and our world. This means acknowledging that “Black Lives Matter” is not political and does have a place in the field of Speech Language Pathology. Remember, that not taking a stance during instances of discrimination is in fact siding with racism.
It is important today and everyday we acknowledge our biases, privileges, and the way we move through the world. Although we can begin this learning during celebrated months, such as Black History Month, it is important that the work also occurs everyday of the year. It is our duty to celebrate all of our clients and ensure that everyone is receiving culturally competent care.
Andalusia Speech Therapy is committed to unlearning and creating safe spaces for our Black staff and clients/families.
This blog post was created with the combined efforts of our Speech Language Pathologists Batoul El Sayah and Raeesa Bhanji.