What Are Gender Pronouns For? My last post addressed ways that you can normalize pronoun use in healthcare. Now, I’m going to backtrack a bit and explain WHY using correct gender pronouns is important. Let’s say, for example, you changed career paths. You used to be a teacher, but now you’re an engineer. What if …
Why is Pronoun Use in Healthcare Important? We have always had patients who feel they do not align with pronouns that are assigned to them based on their appearance or genitalia. Now that more people are learning about what different pronouns mean, it is time to normalize pronoun use in health with all the people …
What is Cultural Sensitivity in SLP? HAPPY BETTER SPEECH AND HEARING MONTH! This post is part of a month-long series of posts related to cultural sensitivity and SLP. First, let’s dive in to what cultural sensitivity in SLP actually is. The term used by ASHA and many other organizations is “cultural competence”. However, over time …
What Does “Defunding the Police” Mean? Defunding the police does not mean that we are abolishing the police. It instead calls for funds that are given to the police to be used in other government agencies. Some cities like Camden, New Jersey, have abolished their police force. That was almost ten years ago. While I’d …
History of Policing and Police Reform Today, I want to go back and share with you the history of policing in the United States. To show you the issue of murder of black people by police is a systemic problem. One that will not go away by creating police reform legislature. Original Forms of Policing …
What Was Cancel Culture Originally? Dictionary.com defines cancel culture as “the popular practice of withdrawing support for public figures and companies after they have done or said something considered objectionable or offensive.” Cancel culture started out as a way to combat discrimination, sexism and racism, and it has been effective in doing so. People …
How Can We Understand the Experience of Black Women? In the last month, there’s been two big names as part of the movement against police brutality. Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. One person’s murderers were arrested and one’s weren’t. George Floyd was murdered on May 25th, and Derek Chauvin was arrested four days later. Breonna …
What is Juneteenth? On June 19, 1865, enslaved African-Americans in Galveston, Texas, were told they were free. There are many celebrations that bring black families together, and some travel to Galveston for the day. It is important to recognize this holiday and it’s significance, but to also remember who it’s for. If you’re a white …
Class Privilege and Intersectionality Class privilege can intersect with almost every privilege. People have advantage because of economic access and social class. Last week I discussed ability privilege. The world is made for people of a typical ability level. What do people with a disability need? They need supports like wheelchairs, rehabilitative therapies (PT, OT, SLP), accomodations in …
The privilege of ability is a powerful one.The world is designed for those who are physically and mentally able. The way our houses and public buildings are structured, our education system, our policy, media representation, the lsts goes on. Bottom line, people that are able-bodied have an advantage because they are not limited physically or …
