Hey, I want to go to school to be an SLP. What do you mean by taking the ableism out of SLP? Is there bad/unethical things about the field I should know abt?
Oh Boise Idaho, I’m real sorry that I’ve just left you in the black here. COVID has been rough, y’all. Thanks for your question, though! I could ramble on for decades about the issues with the field, but I’ll try to be brief. You can always message me if you want me to elaborate on anything.
First off, I love my field, I love my job, I love that I can really help kids communicate (although SLPs work with people of all ages). I love that I can give kids real skills that they can use to make their lives better. I love giving kids access to AAC and supporting self-advocacy and working towards their adult living goals. I love giving teachers and family members the knowledge and skills they need to help kids succeed.
But
There are struggles. Speech-language pathology is rooted in a medical, cure model. It’s speech-language *pathology* and we exist to pathologize. Something is broken. It’s our job to fix it. That sucks. I’m not here to pathologize or fix people. I’m here to figure out how to help people reach whatever their goals are.
As a disabled person, there’s a constant assumption that I can’t possibly be an SLP. In any SLP spaces, there’s always an us vs them belief. The abled SLP saviors vs the disabled recipients of therapy. It’s gross. It’s frustrating. It’s dehumanizing. There’s little conversation in the field about how harmful ableism is, or even *what* ableism is.
Too many SLPs buy into harmful ideologies like ABA. Many have never given thought to why that might be a bad thing, nor have they interacted with disability communities outside of a therapy context.
I have seen changes in the field, though. More disabled SLPs are speaking out. More abled SLPs are listening to disability communities and changing practices. If you do decide to go into the field, please reach out.
