My Voice Matters in CSD: Positionality and Perspectives by :･ﾟ✧Lex✧:･ﾟ

What it Means to be A Black American

desalexhodge — 2025-02-03 13:57:34 UTC

America has a acrid and dark past regarding its treatment of Black individuals, and that past still has implications on the treatment of Black individuals today. This causes great contradictory for Black individuals acceptance towards being American. The attached article discuses what it means to be a Black American and the connotations behind that.

Does Queerness Have a Home in CSD?

desalexhodge — 2025-02-05 23:32:27 UTC

As a queer individual in the field of CSD, I often wonder... are there others and where are they?! I have been apart of the field of CSD since 2019, and over the course of that time I have been able to witness many changes in regards to ASHA placing a larger importance on DEI and other inclusion initiatives. Even throughout witnessing these changes, I still found myself wondering where the queer representation was. As a Black-Biracial individual, I am very familiar with organizations such as NBASLH and statistics such as the "3%". For those who are unfamiliar, the "3%" refers to the amount of individuals who identify as Black and are practicing speech language pathologist and/or audiologist (ASHA Member and Affiliate Profile, 2021). However, amidst seeing more representation for Black folks in CSD, I began searching for queer representation within the field of CSD and was pleasantly surprised with what I found. Not only is there representation through podcasts and blogs, but there is a LGBTQIA+ caucus within ASHA! This group goes by L'GASP and they define themselves as a multicultural consistency group that provides a forum for queer professionals in the field of CSD. One specific thing that I love about this group is that they offer specific resources for students.

AAVE

desalexhodge — 2025-02-06 00:25:27 UTC

One of my passions is learning about dialects, specifically African American Vernacular English (AAVE). There is a long documented history of the way some Black individuals speak being labeled as "lazy, hostile, aggressive, and inferior" (Kurinec & Weaver, 2021). I wish to crush these stereotypes through educating others on the legitimacy of AAVE. This article by Chelsea Privette and Karina Saechao provides an amazing insight to Black Languaging from the lens of Black SLPs. This article uses AAVE throughout it, and prior to reading this article I had never seen AAVE being used in a scholarly article. Truly a For Us By Us moment!

My Privilege, Power, and Positionality Within CSD

desalexhodge — 2025-02-09 18:15:12 UTC

As a Black-Biracial queer individual, there is a small group of people who share the same identities as me within my professional field. When widening the lens and looking at the society I live in, I am grateful to see a larger pool of folks who share the same, or similar, identities as me. However this community that I am apart of, whether it be the Black or queer community, has faced a long history of systemic and individualized oppression. When considering the privilege I hold in the wider lens of American society built on white-supremacy, I find that I have very little privilege and typically have to be twice as talented to be seen and twice as loud to be heard in comparison to my white peers. However, when considering my positionality within the field of CSD as a student clinician and someone who has received higher education, I am allotted more privileges. When examining the relationship between myself and a client, I acknowledge that I have the privilege to be the teacher, the leader, and a voice of knowledge. This also intersects with the power that I hold. As the clinician within a client-clinician relationship, I hold the power to make important decisions and give recommendations such as assessment types, treatment types, and "little c" counseling. These recommendations and decisions could have life long implications for my clients. I believe when we as clinicians hold these types of privileges and power, it is important for our positionality to be truly reflective of not just who we are as a clinician but who we are when we step out of that clinical role. My positionality is influenced by my experience(s) as a Black-Biracial, queer, fat, fem-presenting individual in the American South. I incorporate anti-racist-prejudice-fatphobic-ableist ideals/pedagogy into my everyday life and practice as a student clinician. My identities and individual experiences shape my outlook on the privileges, power, and positionality I hold. Therefore, it is important for myself and others to be educated through a lens that is not only our own.

Trauma Informed Care

desalexhodge — 2025-02-09 19:32:00 UTC

As someone who interacts with individuals in a therapy setting, I find that it is important to be educated on trauma informed care. Trauma informed care is defined by ASHA as an approach that ensures the emotional and physical safety of an individual receiving services. To lead with a trauma informed care approach is to acknowledge that the client you are interacting with may have individual or collective trauma. Trauma can affect the mind and body in many ways, and to better understand how to implement trauma informed care, we must first understand what trauma is and how it can impact someone. This article discuss the complexities of trauma, how it can affect you, and potential resources for those who are experiencing the effects of trauma.

There Will ALWAYS Be Work To Do

desalexhodge — 2025-02-09 20:10:04 UTC

At the end of the day no one person can be fully educated on every little thing. This portion of the forum provides a space where my lingering questions for the world can be posted and hopefully answered as time goes on.

What about YOU

desalexhodge — 2025-02-09 21:02:47 UTC

This portion of the forum provides a space to leave questions, comments, and resources! Thank you for taking the time to learn about my perspectives <3

My Voice Matters in CSD: Positionality and Perspectives by *:･ﾟ✧Lex✧*:･ﾟ