Communication disorders can prevent you from having human rights

What is it about?

This study reviewed submission to the 2013 Australian Government Senate inquiry into the prevalence of speech, language, and communication disorders and speech pathology services in Australia. In this paper, submissions made by individuals with a history of childhood communication disorder were examined to explore their life experiences and the impact that this had on their human right to communicate. Four themes emerged relating to: personal identity, life with communication disorder, the importance of help, and how life would be different without a communication disorder.

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Photo by on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This paper gives voice to children and adults with communication disorder. In listening to these voices, the impact of communication disorder on the right to communicate and on other human rights can be heard, and the need for a response is clear. However, the challenge is to determine how the voices of these individuals, and others like them, can be enabled to exert real influence on practice and policy so communication disorder will no longer be a barrier to attainment of their human rights.