The World Report on Disability and communication disability: some considerations from an Indian context

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to reflect and comment on the lead article by Wylie, McAllister, Davidson, and Marshall (2013) with reference to people with communication disability in India and illustrated by the work of one Indian non-governmental organization. Key themes and questions from Wylie et al. are identified and discussed. Suggestions for how the recommendations of the World Report on Disability might be implemented in an Indian context are made, notwithstanding the magnitude and scale of the demand for services in the context of the vast population. Nine recommendations at the meso- and micro-level are included. These emphasize three major themes: methodologies to ensure access for all those who need speech-language pathology services; enhancement of speech-language pathology training capacities to deliver holistic professional services in urban and rural settings; promotion of the involvement of advocacy groups in policy-making and, hence, facilitating people with communication needs to be more assertive about rights and entitlement.