Urban multicultural trauma patients

The University of Medicine and Dentistry Medical Center in Newark, New Jersey, has a caseload of urban multicultural patients. The stage has been set for implementing a descriptive research project to study the initial stages of CHI and the multicultural trauma patient. A description, characterization, and examination of differences between groups of culturally diverse populations have been presented. Perhaps, with continued study, the preliminary observations will eventually yield developmental trends in aphasia and cognitive-communicative deficits. The many changes the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association has accomplished in the past 5 years in addressing the needs of the multicultural population are appreciated. Training programs should emphasize the need for cultural sensitivity that affects service provision. We also wish to acknowledge ASHA's efforts in the past in seeking avenues to serve this increasing population better. Efforts to recruit individuals who are members of an ethnic minority into our profession have improved, but these efforts must be increased to meet the challenge of the growing number of multicultural trauma patients. The motto is to relentlessly pursue the challenge to serve all populations regardless of culture or language to ensure optimal rehabilitation through speech and language treatment.