Additional Sessions

As part of the official Congress programme, there are sessions hosted by ASHA, WHO and ICP. Further details are below

ASHA

ICF Implementation from a Global Perspective

We are delighted to announce that the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) will present a series of panels across the four days of the World Congress IALP 2016. 

These panels will showcase the status and implementation of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF; WHO 2001) in different regions of the globe.

In each of these panels, a series of presenters will share information that reflects different countries’ perspectives on ICF implementation.

Panel 1: The first panel in the series will introduce the audience to a description of the ICF Framework and some of the unique challenges and opportunities of using the framework in their host country.

Panel 2: The second panel in the series will provide the audience with a discussion, within an international context, of the clinical utility of the ICF Framework with individuals that present with communication disorders.

Panel 3:  The third panel in the series will focus on writing functional outcomes for individuals with communication disorders using the ICF Framework, again with reference to an international context of practice.

Panel 4:  The final panel in the series will focus on the education of students in speech-language pathology programs about the ICF, research opportunities and the provision of professional development for clinicians. This session will also provide an overview to the mobile application for the ICF Framework and examples of global implementation

These four panels promise to be stimulating and highly informative, offering a unique opportunity for delegates to learn about the global challenges and possibilities of ICF implementation in an international context.

WHO Roundtable – Wednesday 24th August

The 30^th World Congress of IALP 2016 is very excited and honoured to welcome a presentation from the World Health Organisation as part of our Scientific Programme.

The title of the presentation is: ‘Making hearing care accessible for all’ and a summary of the presentation is as follows:

‘Over 360 million persons across the world live with disabling hearing loss. Majority of hearing loss can be prevented. Others who develop hearing loss can benefit from early identification and appropriate intervention. Despite this, millions live with the consequences of un-addressed hearing loss. 80% of those with hearing loss live in the low- and middle-income countries of the world.

A WHO report of 2013 suggests that resources to address hearing loss are least available where they are most needed. This includes human resources and national strategies to address hearing loss.

The WHO programme for prevention of deafness and hearing loss works with the vision of a world in which no one experiences hearing loss due to preventable causes and those with unavoidable hearing loss can achieve their full potential through intervention, education and empowerment. In order to do this, WHO aims to strengthen country capacity to deliver effective ear and hearing care services through an integrated public health approach. The panel will focus on the need to address hearing loss as a public health issue and key actions. The session will include the views of relevant persons involved in ear and hearing care provision at country and community levels. It will highlight the key role of professionals in achieving the goal of ‘Making hearing care accessible for all’.

This should be a highly informative and interesting session, and not to be missed!

ICP Session

Raising Awareness of Communication Disorders around the World: an Update on the International Communication Project (ICP)

The International Communication Project (ICP) was initially conceived in 2011 by six national speech-language-hearing associations in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It was also endorsed by the International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics (IALP) in 2013, and organisations and countries from around the world have been invited to join the campaign.

The ICP is an advocate for those with communication disabilities, as well as their families, caregivers and communication professionals. It highlights the importance of human communication and how communication disabilities significantly impact every aspect of life.

Launched in 2014, the ICP is built on the premise that communication is vital to life; yet too often ignored as a disability. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) World Report on Disability 1 estimates that roughly one billion people around the world are living with some form of disability. Nevertheless, people with communication disabilities may not be included in this estimate, even though they encounter significant difficulties in their daily lives.

Thousands of signatories have expressed support for the ICP championed Universal Declaration of Communication Rights; millions have learned about the ICP through project press releases, online events like Google Hangouts, and regional and local activities; and dozens of organizations around the globe have become recognized and engaged as ICP participants.

Currently, the ICP seeks to “Ensure global health policy explicitly recognises, covers, informs, and addresses communication disabilities”. In that endeavor, its objectives are:

• To increase understanding of ‘communication disabilities’ amongst world health bodies and policy makers;
• To target relevant world health documentation, events, and key personnel to ensure that future global health policy recognises and addresses communication disabilities and the vital issue of access to care;
• To strengthen advocacy directed at key individuals, organisations and events in the sphere of world health policy;
• To increase funding for indigenous professional capacity building / training for the purpose of strengthening access to speech pathologists/therapist and audiologists, especially in developing countries.

This panel discussion will review ICP’s efforts to date with particular emphasis on the ICP website and the Universal Declaration of Communication Rights. It will also report the findings and recommendations from a recent consultancy project the ICP engaged to identify: policy initiatives and timescales related to communication; relevant programs in the developed world and developing world; and a schedule of international conventions, policies and reports and processes for amendment or revision.