Engaging in culturally responsive and globally sustainable practices

Area of Science:

• Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences
• Education
• Global Health Practices

Background:

• Professionals in speech, language, and hearing (SLH) face challenges in implementing culturally and linguistically responsive practices.
• Existing practices may retain vestiges of ableism, racism, and colonialism.
• Global changes necessitate a re-evaluation of current professional standards and methodologies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight critical issues in SLH education, clinical practice, and scholarship.
• To emphasize the need for culturally and linguistically responsive and globally sustainable practices.
• To advocate for a critical examination and reconceptualization of existing SLH practices.

Main Methods:

• Analyzing the causes and consequences of global changes impacting the field.
• Critically examining and reconceptualizing SLH practices to dismantle ableism, racism, and colonialism.
• Proposing strategies to transition from positivist science and medical models to critical science and social models of disability.

Main Results:

• Strategies are provided to move from a medical model to a social model of disability.
• Analysis focuses on the impact of changing social, political, and global landscapes on SLH practices.
• The article offers a framework for critically evaluating and transforming professional practices.

Conclusions:

• The proposed strategies facilitate a shift from positivist to critical science approaches.
• Rethinking policies and standards is crucial for transforming SLH practices.
• Transformed practices will be culturally responsive, globally sustainable, and relevant in the evolving global context.