The Art of Communication

I recently traveled with my daughter, Hannah, on a class trip to China. We expected to visit and learn about the iconic landmarks on our itinerary—Great Wall of China, Forbidden City, Olympic Village. What we didn’t expect was to learn about speech-language pathology and rehabilitation during our tour. However, a visit to a clinic in Chengdu taught us that the field of speech-language pathology is relatively new to China. China only officially recognized communication disorders starting in 1980. The first speech-language pathology department was established in 1985 at Beijing’s Rehabilitation Center of China. The Chinese International Speech, Language and Hearing Association (CISHA) was established in 2014. As of last year, approximately 10,000 speech-language pathologists practice throughout the country. China’s estimated population of 1.3 billion means only one SLP exists to serve approximately 130,000 people. Obviously, there’s a significant shortage of SLPs in China. The China Gap for Speech-Language Services As an SLP working in rehabilitation for more than 20 years, I found this information intriguing. My daughter—who spent her entire life watching me advocate for speech, language and swallowing services for my patients—knew immediately she’d found her required capstone project. (She’s in an international studies program including advanced foreign language and study of international issues.) During our time in China, my daughter and I also enjoye...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech Therapy Authors: Tags: Advocacy Speech-Language Pathology Swallowing Disorders Source Type: blogs