Speech and Language Pathology Department hosts Linguistic Diversity Programme

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The Discipline of Speech-Language Pathology at UKZN’s Westville Campus held a Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in Practice Symposium recently.

Addressing the gathering, Academic Leader, Dr Penelope Flack, explained how standardised testing by speech language pathologists (SLPs) in South Africa was both linguistically and culturally biased. ‘As SLPs we are ethically obliged to provide testing that is culturally sensitive and which is carefully planned to take into account cultural diversity and avoid stigmatisation. Diversity research typically refers to minority groups but in South Africa the opposite applies which poses an enormous challenge.’

Dr Caroline Bowen of Macquarie University in Australia, who is also an Honorary Research Fellow in SLP at UKZN, discussed multilingualism and how the requirements of children with speech sound disorders needed to be addressed. Condensing a November 2013 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) short course she presented with colleagues in Chicago in the United States, Bowen outlined the best international practice guidelines for working with children with speech and sound disorders as well as ways of identifying practical pathways to improve international practices.

‘Children with speech sound disorders have a combination of difficulties and we need to address these. In terms of cultural competence, there is a linguistic barrier between clients and patients. Clinical assessment has a very narrow focus and very little is documented of good clinical practices,’ she said.

‘Working with children in a clinical environment is difficult and children need to be engaged with familiar cultural contexts. Speech language pathologists have the power to continually change approaches to practice by adopting recommended strategies that will ultimately produce better results.’

Bowen ran a workshop titled Sound Reasoning, in which she discussed data-driven, theoretically sound techniques and approaches SLPs could implement when working with children with speech sound disorders.

Dr Julie Marshall of the Manchester Metropolitan University, who is also an Honorary Senior Lecturer at UKZN, delivered her presentation via Skype. It was titled: Service Users’ Explanatory Models about Language – Why do They Matter and What do They Tell Us?

‘Explanatory models can be described as the process by which illness is patterned, interpreted and treated. Speech language pathologists around the world try to find models that are competent, make a good service and take into account the vital context of a patient with communication disabilities. One needs to take into account the society the patient lives in and the dominant religion, culture, demographics and personality of the individual.’

Marshall also spoke about a study conducted in north-west England where play and language development were seen to be delayed in certain children while parents expected nursery schools to take on the responsibility for the child’s speech and language development. ‘The role of language in the early years is very important as there is a risk of negative outcomes because children with primary speech and language impairment form a significant group in which there is a high prevalence of individuals with special educational needs.’

A recent graduate of the Speech-Language Pathology Discipline’s PhD programme, Dr Thandeka Mdlalo, spoke about the assessment of South African English Additional Language (EAL) speakers from an indigenous language and cultural background. ‘South Africa is a multilingual society where language is influenced by culture. Children’s responses are influenced by their world views and cultural backgrounds as well.’

With English being the dominant language in South Africa, children - who came from homes where their mother tongue was not English - often experienced problems learning English when entering a learning environment such as an English medium school. ‘There are many linguistic and cultural barriers and one of the most commonly used tools by Speech Language Pathologists is the Renfrew Action Picture Test (RAPT). These images are used to screen children’s language based on a specific set of questions about the picture stimuli,’ said Mdlalo.

‘In the South African context, children interpret what they see in the images differently to the western interpretation. Picture stimuli such as those used in the RAPT are created based on American or United Kingdom contexts so they should be Africanised/localised.’

Professor Nonhlanhla Mkhize from the UKZN School of Applied Human Sciences spoke about Ethics: An African/Indigenous Centred Perspective.

Mkhize discussed the practice of ethics and how in ethics literature there was not one universal ethical rule. ‘Ethics influence a person through their concept of the world. In the western concept, humans are autonomous and contained within themselves. In relational boundaries, ethics is a separation between the private and professional. Privacy and confidentiality strengthens the boundaries and enhances agency.’

However, said Mkhize, from an African perspective, ethics were viewed in terms of balance. ‘If there is no equilibrium, it needs to be restored. Children need to be assessed appropriately so that they are not disadvantaged. As SLPs, we must respect the values and world views of the locals, because ethics is about meaning making. It is a process of understanding and reflecting on what somebody has to study.’

An Associate Professor in the Discipline of Speech-Language Pathology at UKZN, Professor Mershen Pillay, spoke on Concepts of Culture and also chaired a lively panel discussion at the end of the day which attracted a high level of audience participation.

‘The way we address culture is linked to the Post-Colonial world we live in,’ said Pillay. ‘There are many underlying issues in relation  to culture, race and language that we need to think about to refine our position as practitioners. We often develop ourselves in the context of other countries’ guidelines and contexts. How can our competency be judged and rated globally and locally?

‘Due to 80% South African SLPs being in private practice, a large part of our community  can only be changed by a small percentage of people. There are “black holes” in society with those left outside of health care.’

-        Zakia Jeewa