When I qualified as a Speech Therapist from National Hospitals College, London, England, I began my career in Canada. It was in these two countries that I acquired my initial and lasting knowledge in augmentative and alternative communication.
A good deal of my childhood was spent in dance and drama classes. Little did I know how much my experience in these disciplines would influence the development of my work in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Speech and the ability to speak are, to this day, highly valued qualities in our society. We make judgments about people based on the quality of their speech, their movements, appearance, and their literacy skills.
Unfortunately, some people may not attain their potential to move their body for speech or other forms of communication. These individuals may be challenged in communication by illness, acquired or developmental issues or lack of access to skilled communication partners and resources.
The role of the communication partner is invaluable!
The role of the communication partner is often overlooked and not recognised enough!
When someone fails to re-learn or to acquire enough spoken language to meet their needs, we use the terms severe communication impairment (SCI), or complex communication needs (CCN). My work as a Speech Language Pathologist, (also known as a Speech Therapist), has been to try to enable people with complex communication needs to communicate and interact effectively and efficiently with their community.
I am eternally grateful that, throughout my life, I have had the opportunity to work closely with and learn from very talented communication partners from a range of disciplines and life experiences. The wealth of knowledge and skill I have acquired from this pool of allied health professionals, neurologic music therapists, educationalists, parents, support workers and, of course, the people who have communication impairments, has fed the online and self-paced courses that I have available for you.
Now, I provide online training as a package of five courses. All courses are available now. I have used a co-design model so your feedback is important.
https://drjaneremingtongurney.podia.com/
You can purchase courses for yourself or for your staff (as a set of coupons). If you need several courses, there are special offers for you, so just scroll down to the "pricing" section and take a look at the plan that best suits you.
If you would like to contact me about my online courses, mentoring support for staff or special pricing plans for the online training, please email me.
Journal of Social Inclusion, 4(1), 2013 Abstract Non speech methods of communication, such as the use of gesture... View More
Being a communication partner for someone is one of the most valuable roles a person can have. In the past we have... Read More