Visible versus invisible disabilities: Communication rights moderated through hierarchies of disability and childhood

What an exciting moment - to hold a book that includes a chapter that I have co-authored with my daughter. 

McLeod, S., & McLeod, J. (2023). Communication rights moderated through hierarchies of disability and childhood. In S. Meyers, M. McCloskey, G. Petri (Eds.). The Routledge international handbook of disability human rights hierarchies. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003410089

I enjoyed the collaboration, conversations, and the task of writing together. I am proud of our thinking, particularly our work on identifying challenges living with visible versus invisible disabilities.

Problems with the Australian Government's categories of disability

The Australian Government has four categories of disability that are based on the Disability Discrimination Act (1992) and the Disabililty Standards for Education (2005) are used in the NCCD census across schools https://www.nccd.edu.au/wider-support-materials/definitions-disability-and-nccd-categories 

• Physical 
• Cognitive 
• Sensory 
• Social/Emotional 

This is a really problematic grouping since most students with communication disability do not fit easily into these categories.

https://www.nccd.edu.au/wider-support-materials/definitions-disability-and-nccd-categories

 

We wrote about this issue over a decade ago: 

McLeod, S., Press, F., & Phelan, C. (2010). The (in)visibility of children with communication impairment in Australian health, education, and disability legislation and policies. Asia Pacific Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing, 13(1), 67-75. 

Here is a paper that outlines the impact of having a communication disability on the support required in schools:

McLeod, S., & McKinnon, D. H. (2010). Support required for primary and secondary students with communication disorders and/or other learning needs. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 26(2), 123-143. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265659010368754