Don’t Be Isolated In Isolation - Giving Voice To Those Most Challenged During COVID-19

While COVID-19 has highlighted the importance for us to connect and communicate regularly, for those New Zealanders (an estimated 400,000 people) living with a communication disability, the sudden need to adapt to new ways of communicating and connecting during the lockdown added an extra level of strain to them and their whānau.

This year’s New Zealand Speech-language Therapy Awareness Week of Connection runs from September 7-13 2020.

Annette Rotherham, President of New Zealand Speech-language Therapists’ Association says “Being able to communicate is essential for all relationships. The risk of social isolation is increased for all those with a communication disability and we (speech-language therapists) are very conscious of this during the lockdown period”.

Speech-language therapists help people with communication disorders meet their potential and get connected and stay connected with their friends and whānau. This is critical now more than ever, as the mental health implications of isolation are affecting thousands of kiwis.

“Having successful communication experiences allows people to take part, be confident and live a more fulfilled life. Being able to communicate, and being heard, supports self-esteem – without it, people can withdraw, and this sometimes results in social, psychological, health, mental health, and economic issues.” Annette Rotherham says. When we all connect, we thrive.

Get connected, Be connected, Stay connected

New Zealand Speech-language Therapy Awareness

Week of Connection September 7-13 2020

About New Zealand Speech-language Therapists’ Association (NZSTA)

The New Zealand Speech-language Therapists’ Association is the national professional body of Speech-language Therapists in New Zealand.

We are the association for our members. We are over 900 Speech-language Therapists. We are committed to giving all New Zealanders their life essentials – effective communication and safe swallowing. With these life essentials comes well-being.

For more information, visit https://speechtherapy.org.nz/ or follow on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube

About Awareness Week 2020s

Connection is the theme of NZSTA’s Awareness Week for 2020. Many of us have had challenges this year in staying connected with those who support us, and for people who live with communication difficulties, getting connected and staying connected is sometimes much more difficult than it needs to be.

The theme envisions everyone in Aotearoa being connected with no one left behind. The week of connection will be from the 7th to the 13th of September where our goal is to share stories and perspectives from the vast populations Speech-language Therapists’ work with.

These stories will provide perspectives of what living with swallowing or communication difficulties is like, encourage new people to simply give connection a go and provide us with a powerful resource.

Each year, NZSTA’s Awareness Week has two main goals:

• Increasing public awareness of the speech-language therapy profession; and
• Promoting actions and advocacy that empower people who live with communication and swallowing difficulties to live their lives in the way that they want to.

https://speechtherapy.org.nz/awareness-week/

https://www.facebook.com/newzealandspeechlanguagetherapy

https://youtu.be/7jVDqu1Ygjs

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