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Disorders of speech and language include myriad diagnoses that vary in incidence and prevalence across age span and cultures. Disorders can range from those that do not impinge upon general communication, learning or psychosocial function, such as a mild speech disturbance, like a lisp, to global aphasia with a complete lack of communication ability. The short- and long-term effects of these impairments are often directly related to the age at onset, duration, co-morbidities, access to intervention by qualified professionals, and the societal response to the disability. In cultures that take a dim view of any type of deviation from the norm, there may be less access to diagnosis and treatment, as well as a hesitancy to seek out available options for treatment. Additionally, for those countries in which there are larger issues of general health, economic support, and quality of care, the nature of the disability may receive little or no attention simply due to national priorities or limited access to resources. Although, globally, disorders of speech and language are not exclusively limited to those countries with poorer health outcomes, in general, speech and language services may be less accessible or absent in poverty-stricken nations of the world. In many cases, these countries are at greater risk for many of the disorders simply due to environmental and social conditions, such as lack of early access to health care and preventative interventions. This chapter explores Global Perspectives on Speech and Language Impairments.

This article aggregates and reviews the disparate information needed to assess journal literature related to communication disorders both directly and peripherally. An extensive analysis was performed using a list of 40 journals on communication disorders derived from a review of selected libraries’ journal collections, and then compared to entries in respected indexes and bibliographies covering this discipline. The result of this analysis is a list providing comprehensive information including scope and coverage, publisher information, indexing/abstracting data, and online availability for those 40 journals. In addition, a survey was conducted among communication disorders faculty in the City University of New York (CUNY) to investigate which professional journals are used regularly for current awareness and for clinical/research information. The information presented in this article should be of interest to faculty, students and practitioners in this area, as well as subject librarians responsible for collection development.

This chapter is structured for teaching young learners with physical (orthopedic) disabilities in special education. Orthopedic impairments encompass a range of disabling conditions. Orthopedic impairments are typically grouped into three main categories: (1) congenital anomalies (CA) such as absence of a member or clubfoot, (2) impairments caused by disease such as bone tuberculosis (TB) or poliomyelitis, or (3) impairments for other causes to include amputations, fractures, cerebral palsy (CP), burns, or fractures. In the chapter, the authors present definitions of various orthopedic impairments and discuss their respective etiologies followed by discussions of specific disabling conditions. Students with orthopedic impairments present both challenges and opportunities to special education teachers as is evident in the following case of Amira, a girl with asthma and CP.

The current healthcare environment provides several challenges to the existing roles of healthcare professionals. The value of the professional expert is also under scrutiny. The purpose of this paper is to generate a construction of professional expertise amongst practitioners in the current healthcare environment. It used the speech-language therapy community in New Zealand (NZ) as an example.

Speech-language therapists currently practicing in NZ completed an online survey including qualitative and quantitative components. The range of experience and work settings of participants (n=119) was representative of the workforce.

Participants clearly identified being “highly experienced” and “having in-depth knowledge” as essential elements of professional expertise. Thematic analysis generated two interconnected themes of a professional expert being a personal leader and teacher, and a highly experienced, knowledgeable and skilful practitioner. Additionally, practitioners needed to be seen to contribute to the community in order to be known as experts. Clinical practice was valued differently from research generation.

This study is novel in exploring a construction of professional expertise amongst practitioners in a current healthcare community. Within that community, experts could be viewed as highly effective practitioners that visibly contribute to the professional community. The study draws attention to the role of reputation and the impacts of being a clinical teacher or leader compared with pursuing a research role. This could be particularly relevant in the promotion of evidence-based practice.

Interprofessional practice (IPP) is one way to structure collaborations to more effectively meet the complex needs of students in educational settings. This article explores the lessons learned when one research team implemented interprofessional education (IPE) experiences in partnership with a public elementary school and pre-service professionals from elementary education, special education and communication science and disorders.

This reflective article explores the lived experiences of researchers and partners who completed an IPE experience within one professional development school’s site. Researcher anecdotes are included to support the viewpoints shared.

It was discovered that IPE experiences are essential to facilitate meaningful collaborations for pre-service professionals to learn with and from one another; however, this requires time, preparation and is most effective when teacher mentors and university professors lead with vulnerability and model flexibility. Investment in IPE is challenging but worth the effort when learning outcomes are realized.

Specific details regarding the structure of this experience are shared as well as future directional goals for programs hoping to implement IPE in their professional practice programs.

This paper argues that accent modification acts as a mechanism that (re)produces workplace accentism, which is a set of ideologies and practices positioning some English accents as inherently superior/inferior to others in the context of work and careers.

This conceptual paper draws on existing literature mainly from critical sociolinguistic and labor studies to support its central argument.

Through acting as a skill, a technology and a commodified service, accent modification naturalizes linguistic hierarchies, which are racist, classist and colonial constructions, and reinforces the structural status quo in different contexts.

In order to move away from accent modification as a means to enhance oral communication at work, organizational attempts at fostering mutual intelligibility and undoing the role of accent in workplace communication are necessary.

Contrary to research that presents accentism as a purely interpersonal issue, the paper explores how accentism is institutionalized and is connected to linguistic profiling.

Recently with increased legislative support and evidence-based studies on the importance of education for children with disabilities in China, special education programs and intervention and rehabilitation services have received more and more attention. There are limited studies on special education programs for children with disabilities located in China’s rural areas. This paper aims to select one special education program in China’s northeast rural area with a special focus on its curriculum design, accommodative services and teacher qualifications. Recommendations were provided on how to modify the curriculum to meet each child’s special needs, increase social interaction among children, increase teacher qualifications and improve teacher family collaboration.

The participating program serves orphans and children with disabilities between 6 and 18 years old and provides them 9-year free education, along with free textbooks, uniforms, food and boarding. Currently, there are approximately 100 students and 40 teachers, one director and one nurse. The teacher/staff and student ratio is 1:3. Data were collected through classroom observation and interviews. Afterward, the interview data were transcribed. Data were analyzed following Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-step approach. The researcher reviewed the collected data, then coded the data and reviewed, refined and revised the codes, and finally themes and sub-themes were identified with quotations that support each theme/sub-theme.

The identified themes are accommodations, education plan and curriculum and teacher qualifications. Accommodations include, but are not limited to, visual and hearing aids. National unity textbooks were adopted, along with national syllabus objectives, as a guideline for instruction and evaluation of child progress. Teachers also adjust curriculum-based students’ individual needs. All teachers hold an associate degree in special education, and those who teach specials hold a higher degree in the specialty area. Given that there is no speech language pathologist, physical therapist, or occupational therapist, teachers with rich working experiences in the related field serve as special professionals.

The current research reports the program design, accommodations for children with disabilities, curriculum and syllabus, parent/guardian role and teacher qualifications in the selected school. Given that the current study focuses on only one school located in the rural area of China’s northeast, it may represent special education programs in rural China, but it is hard to be generalized to provide a big picture of China’s special education programs in more developed, metropolitan areas.

The selected school offers accommodative services to students with disabilities; adjusts its curriculum to make it developmentally appropriate; and offers educational, medical and rehabilitation services to promote student development to the maximum. The selected school should improve teacher quality, increase social interaction between children with and without disabilities, modify the curriculum to cater to individuals with different severities of disabilities and increase family professional collaboration.

There is limited study on special education programs for young children with disabilities in China’s rural area. The current study fills this gap and studies a special education school that offers services to children as young as six years old located in a small town in the northeast of China. The special focus of the study includes program curriculum, accommodations, rehabilitation and intervention services and teacher qualifications in this program.

Speech pathology services have not been traditionally provided within school classroom settings. This chapter will describe the service-delivery options for provision of speech pathology services in classroom settings. A review of select research related to the efficacy of these services is included as applied examples for educators.

This chapter provides an overview of speech-language pathology including education and training requirements of the field of speech-language pathology and the typical role that speech-language pathologists play as members of school-based teams serving children with speech-language-hearing related delays and disorders. A description of the primary areas of treatment is provided along with suggestions for how collaboration with additional team members and families are involved in school-based intervention plans.

Writings about language and speech impairments (SLI) have been present for many centuries (Smith, 2004). Unfortunately, early historical accounts tended to reflect negatively upon individuals with SLI. For example, Van Riper and Erickson (1996) related that during the Roman times, an individual who stuttered was placed into a cage for entertainment purposes. According to these authors, citizens passing would throw coins into the person's cage to get him to talk. During the late 1800s, the profession of speech-language pathology began as an avocation of certain professionals, notably doctors, educators, and elocutionists (public speakers), who were interested in helping others improve their speech. American doctors studied under the auspices of European doctors who treated people with communication disorders. The two most common disorders that were treated then were dysfluency (stuttering) and speech sound errors (articulation) (Duchan, 2002). Treatment was available for the above disorders, however, the programs were not in public schools and the results of intervention were mixed (Smith, 2004).