ASHA’s speech-language pathologists are distinctly aware of the importance of voice to an individual’s identity. ASHA members who work with people with voice disorders strive to provide culturally responsive care, incorporating the patient’s beliefs, values, and perspectives.
The latest forum from Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups presents six articles to help clinicians provide culturally responsive care. Guest editor Lauren Timmons Sund writes that these articles can provide ASHA members with clinical practices they need in order provide high-quality voice care for all.
Exploring Culturally Responsive Voice Care
The forum opens with an introduction where Timmons Sund and colleagues discuss the importance of culturally responsive voice care and contrast cultural responsiveness with cultural competence. Next, Morton-Jones and Timmons Sund show clinicians how using intentional practices can help them resolve unconscious bias.
Moonsammy et al. look at the importance of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in voice and upper airway disorders, focusing on gender-inclusive care and linguistically diverse individuals. Vastine and Butcher focus on gender-affirming voice care for transgender and gender-expansive people, aiming to raise clinical awareness of the barriers and oppression that these individuals experience.
Neurodiversity is an overlooked aspect of cultural responsiveness, and Kapila and colleagues introduce clinicians to neuro-affirming care and how to include it in your current work. In the final article of the forum, Castro et al. show how self-determination theory can guide clinicians when using culturally responsive voice care.
Perspectives and Culturally Responsive Voice Care
Even mild changes in voice quality can affect individuals’ quality of life greatly. We hope that this forum can help clinicians who engage in voice care provide culturally responsive care to everyone they work with.
Affiliates of any of ASHA’s 20 Special Interest Groups (SIGs) have access to more than 30 years of clinically relevant research in Perspectives. This forum is free for anyone to read for the next 2 weeks, so we encourage you to read and share these articles now.
We’d like to thank Dr. Timmons Sund and all of the authors who worked to bring this forum to SIG affiliates. Read the forum in the latest issue of Perspectives, or explore the individual articles below.
Explore the Forum
Castro, M. E., Enclade, H., & Biel, M. (2024). Self-determination theory applications in culturally responsive vice therapy. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 9(5), 1324–1330. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_PERSP-23-00168
Kapila, R., Gaddy, C., & Pilchman, R. (2024). Neuro-affirming practices for voice care. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 9(5), 1314–1323. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_PERSP-23-00133
Moonsammy, S. U., Procter, T., Goodwin, M. E., & Crumpton, P. (2024). Proactive strategies for breaking barriers: Advancing justice initiatives in speech-language pathology for diverse populations in voice management and upper airway disorders. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 9(5), 1290–1300. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_PERSP-23-00138
Morton-Jones, M. E., & Timmons Sund, L. (2024). Exploring culturally responsive voice care: Mitigating disparities by addressing implicit bias. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 9(5), 1283–1289. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_PERSP-23-00137
Timmons Sund, L., Morton-Jones, M. E., & Castro, M. E. (2024). Exploring culturally responsive voice care: Introduction. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 9(5), 1280–1282. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_PERSP-23-00126
Vastine, W., & Butcher, L. (2024). Doing the inner and outer work: Culturally responsive practices in gender-affirming voice care. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 9(5), 1301–1313. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_PERSP-23-00151
