WORDS...PART 1

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Yesterday was strange for me.  Although I could have easily lived without Facebook or twitter just a little more than a year ago, I have become quite comfortable being able to communicate with friends and loved ones with a quick post or comment. Words have been literally at the tip of my fingers.But, I supported communication shutdown.http://communicationshutdown.org and as a result pledged to obstain from using either Facebook or twitter to communicate for 24hrs. I went a step further however, and decided for 24 hours not to take any phone calls that were not critical. By noon, I wondered what I had been missing going on in my friends' lives, by early evening I really began to feel left out and certainly by the time the day was over, I was grateful my communication fast was as well.

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Granted, I did accomplish a lot yesterday. I understood why a friend attends "silent retreats" regularly to refresh her perspective on life and revamp her priorities, but I also knew that after 24 hours, I wanted to re-engage and be part of the groups I belong to, feeling comfortable exchanging information, opinions and commenting about our lives and what is important to us. 24 hours and I recognized what the lack of communication feels like in an interacive society.  But, I chose to participate in the shutdown because I am fully aware of what it is like to be unable to communicate even your own wants and needs. While the shutdown was to support those with autism who can't communicate, there are many individuals restricted in communicating for physical, psychological and even cultural and religious reasons.


Working with individuals all of my life who have been impaired in the ability to communicate has made me realize how important having words and being able to get them across is. It is a thrill to watch someone's eyes light up when they are given a means to communicate and they realize another person "gets" the message they want to convey.  I have witnessed the eyes of children and adults locked behind the inability to communicate pleading to help them open the pathways to express their needs, wants, opinions and feelings in some way. Communication is critical whether verbal, written or through any other means. These individuals must endure the "out of it" feeling I had for far longer than 24 hours.


We take speaking, writing, talking on the phone, even the ability to use sign language for granted but for those with conditions like autism, ALS, cerebral palsy, stroke, apraxia, brain injury and other neurological deficits, communication is gift. Imagine not being able to tell someone where something on your body hurt, what you needed, where something was you wanted or how you felt about something important. Being able to communicate is as vital as breathing and the impact of restricted communication limits the quality of life one has.
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Speech and language therapists are committed to helping individuals with communication disorders put their ideas, hopes, wants, dreams and feelings into "words" verbally or through many other means, recognizing that communication is as vital as breathing and the impact restricted communication has on limiting one's life. The American Society of Speech and Hearing (http://www.asha.org) mission is to "make effective communication a human right, accesible and achievable for all." 

Today, stop and think what being unable to communicate in any form would be like. How different would your life be? Would you be able to continue in your same field of employment? Have the same group of friends? Be involved in the same extracurricular activities? Proceed with the same hopes and dreams?

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Communication...be grateful for the "words" you were able to make known. And stay tuned for PART 2 about WORDS.