Learning Support Update
HISTORY OF SPEECH AND HEARING AWARENESS MONTH
If you have seen the Oscar-winning film “The King’s Speech” in which King George VI overcomes his stuttering, you probably know that speech impairment and communication disorders have long existed despite the newness of its medical field. The history of all speech-hearing illnesses goes farther than even George VI’s time. It was over 2,000 years ago when Hippocrates, a Greek physician, first observed the symptoms of stuttering and aphasia. Around the same time, historians credit Satyrus as the first to combat speech impairments through diction lessons where he instructed his students to exercise breathing control, voice production, and articulation. Moreover, Aurelius Cornelius Celsus was the first to emphasize that the tongue is the origin of speech illnesses, advocating for gargling and eating pungent food as remedies for faulty articulation and other speech disturbances.
It was in the Middle Ages when language disorder was considered a separate entity from other forms of illness. In 1305, Bernard de Gordon wrote the book “Lily of Medicine” in which he described people with speech impairments as those who have difficulty expressing a concept. The progression and advancement of language disorder studies didn’t happen until the 1700s when doctors Johann Gesner in Germany and Alexander Crichton in Scotland documented different types of aphasia, which included the aftermath of a stroke or head injuries.
However, the official modern study of speech and language pathology began in the early 20th century. In 1926, the American Academy of Speech Correction was founded, and speech therapy became widespread over the next 20 years. In the late 1960s, a specific distinction between speech disorders and language disorders was acknowledged and applied to the field. Between 1975 to 2000, the Pragmatics Revolution took place, which included the development of conversations, social interaction, event participation, and other communicative tools, to clinically help patients. This movement has been a vital part of the speech and language treatment that we know today.
SPEECH AND HEARING AWARENESS MONTH (nationaltoday.com)
“The Inclusive Education and Early Years Vision and Charter launch is taking place at Jersey Library on Thursday 22nd February.
The formal launch programme will be from 10-11 am and we welcome all school leaders (including SENCos) to be present at the Library during this time.
The programme for the day includes stalls by various charities and agencies that work with children and young people; workshops and master classes for education practitioners and parents; as well as bi-lingual book readings and a Human Library of people from diverse backgrounds and experiences who will share their journeys and stories.
We will be sending out invitations with the programme in the coming weeks so you can plan and book your slots to visit the Library with your pupils.”