Theme 3: Participation and Society

The Participation and Society theme reflects the increasing awareness that speech and language therapists need to have a broad understanding of the social and cultural and wider issues, which may influence the therapeutic context. Communication impairments are examined in relation to education, social and health psychology, social justice and sociolinguistics.

In BMed1, students are introduced to variations in typical development across the lifespan, which are influenced by social, cultural and other contextual factors. Students focus on the individual within the social context and the theoretical basis for the development of attitude and identity. The Understanding Society module looks specifically at differences between family and social groups. The role of support services is examined in order to enable the learner to use this knowledge in their clinical placements. Students are expected to be proactive in obtaining a knowledge base with a focus on student participation. In year 1, students access all key legislation relating to disability and communication impairment in both educational, social and health contexts.

In years 2 and 3, the modules examine more specific aspects of educational disengagement, social justice, mental health difficulties and acquired communication disorders and how society perceives and addresses these difficulties.