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8
Making it happen
• work with national and international partners to have
communication explicitly recognised as a basic human right
in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as in
the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons
with a Disability;
• lead development of regulated national standards for
communication accessibility across Australia;
• partner with people with communication difficulties to
advance communication accessibility, ensuring minimum
standards are met by every health and human services
agency, providers of education and training, retail business,
and transport services;
• advance a nation-wide movement and campaign to build
understanding and respect for the rights of every individual
to communicate and to inform the community of the role of
speech pathologists in supporting this right;
• integrate core curriculum on the principles and processes
of achieving communication accessibility into all Australian
speech pathology training programs;
• establish a comprehensive evidence-base regarding
application of communication accessibility standards,
development of competence in implementing the standards,
and the social and economic outcomes achieved; and
• lead innovation in developing processes, tools and
technological solutions to facilitate communication
accessibility at home, in the work place, and in the
community.
Scope’s Communication Inclusion
and Resource Centre (CIRC) in
partnership with the Communication
Access Network (CAN) in Victoria
is working towards development
of communication accessible
communities. It aims to achieve
for communication access what
the International Symbol of Access
(wheelchair symbol) has achieved for
physical access.
CIRC has undertaken extensive
research and consultation with
people with communication
difficulties and relevant stakeholders
on the barriers and facilitators
of communication access. This
research informed development of
the Communication Access Checklist
and the underpinning standards
that, when met, support people
with communication difficulties to
access services and resources in
their communities. The checklist and
standards also benefit people from
non-English speaking backgrounds
and people with low literacy.
CIRC and CAN engage with
organisations over a period of time
to develop resources and build skills
of staff. The assessment occurs
when this process is complete and
the organisation feels ready for
the audit. When an audit has been
successful, the organisation displays
the Communication Access Symbol
and is awarded a communication
access licence,
identifying it as a place
that is welcoming and
friendly towards people
with communication
difficulties and where
staff have skills and resources to
support successful communication.
Sustainability of communication
access standards is assured through
compliance with an annual review and
the re-issue of the communication
access licence.
More and more organisations are
wanting to address aspects of their
disability access plans that deal with
inclusion and the rights of people with
communication difficulties. These
include the public transport sector
such as V-Line (regional rail), Public
Transport Victoria, the Victorian
Equal Opportunity and Human Rights
Commission and Victoria Police. Over
150 Victorian businesses and other
organisations are now registered as
communication accessible.
An important feature of the
communication access initiative is the
central involvement of people with
complex communication needs. The
initiative provides employment for
people with communication difficulties
and builds leadership opportunities.
However, the most critical aspect
is that it brings authenticity and
credibility to the audits because it is
only people with a communication
difficulty who can competently and
correctly complete the assessments.
Five communication access assessors
are currently employed by Scope in
Victoria. Scope is now ready to roll
out communication access across
Australia.
Leading the way...
The Communication Access Network, Victoria
As we step into the future, the speech pathology profession will: