There is an unfortunate lack of diversity within the speech-language pathology profession.
With it being a predominantly white profession, that means that a large majority of SLP materials lack diversity as well. In today’s episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I sat down with Christina Royster and Courtney Overton from DiveryCity SLP to discuss the things that they are doing to increase diversity and representation within the field so that all children feel included.
In 2018, Ana-Maria Jaramillo, Courtney Overton, and Christina Royster created DiverCity SLP in order to increase diversity in the field of speech-language pathology. DiverCity SLP presents at local high schools with a high enrollment of underrepresented communities.
They speak with students about the need for more speech-language pathologists of color. Since the pandemic, DiverCity SLP has evolved to include workshops and seminars on a national level. Topics include anti-racist practices, appropriate evaluations and treatment techniques for diverse populations, culturally and linguistically sustaining approaches, and high school career outreach programs.
In This Episode You’ll Discover:
- The issues with diversity within our profession
- The importance of representation in the speech room
- Why you need to understand your students' cultural background before you can assess them appropriately
- Why dynamic assessment is so important
- Tips for diversifying your lessons in an appropriate way
- The best brands and books with representation
- The current issues with ASHA
Just because the profession lacks diversity now doesn’t mean that it has to stay that way! There are tools, resources, and other things you can do within your SLP practice that will improve the inclusivity of your lessons.
I love how Christina and Courtney are taking the steps to make a change. If you want to get involved, I highly recommend you check out their Google Drive full of resources: Diversifying the Field.
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Joke of the Week:
Q: How do baseball players stay cool?
A: They stay next to the fans.
Resources Mentioned:
Get the Diversifying The Field Google Drive Resources
Follow DiverCity SLP on Instagram
Follow Speech Of Cake, Inc on Instagram
Follow Play on Words Therapy LLC on Instagram
Follow Voz Speech Therapy DC on Instagram
Where We Can Connect:
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