There is More to Communication than Tongue Placement and ‘Show and Tell’: Discussing Communication from a Speech Pathology Perspective

Abstract

Speech pathologists are typically described as communication specialists whose prime focus is to work with people who have communication disorders. Speech pathology is often described as a communication science. The key to understanding how speech pathologists conceptualize communication lies in understanding how speech pathologists as a profession deal with the notion of what constitutes effective communication. Typically speech pathologists identify communication as effective when both the speaker and the listener have executed their roles to an age expected level within the biological capabilities of the individual. The way speech pathologists talk about communication identifies their conceptualization of communication as primarily a biological process. Speech pathologists also use the language of descriptive linguistics to describe the specific aspects of an individual's communication system but this use of linguistic terminology occurs in such a way that it too becomes another means of defining communication in terms of biology. This definition fits neatly within the realm of the health sciences which is where speech pathology is typically situated as speech pathology tends to follow a medical model in relation to the identification and treatment of communication disorders. Duchan describes the medical view of diagnosis as, ‘locating the problem within the individual, preferably within the person's biological system’. Given that communication is not only a biological phenomenon, this somewhat narrow conceptualization of communication can be problematic when applied to the many and varied situations in which speech pathologists are required to describe an individual's communication system.

Keywords:

• Speech Pathology
• Medical Model
• Cultural Contexts

*I would like to thank the Aboriginal people participating in the research currently being conducted by the author for their generosity in sharing their knowledge and their tireless patience in helping to inform my understanding of ‘culture’. I would also like to thank Tony Liddicoat, my PhD supervisor, for his guidance and support in the preparation of this paper.

*I would like to thank the Aboriginal people participating in the research currently being conducted by the author for their generosity in sharing their knowledge and their tireless patience in helping to inform my understanding of ‘culture’. I would also like to thank Tony Liddicoat, my PhD supervisor, for his guidance and support in the preparation of this paper.

Notes

*I would like to thank the Aboriginal people participating in the research currently being conducted by the author for their generosity in sharing their knowledge and their tireless patience in helping to inform my understanding of ‘culture’. I would also like to thank Tony Liddicoat, my PhD supervisor, for his guidance and support in the preparation of this paper.