Barbara May Bernhardt, "Audiology and speech-language pathology for people of First Nations, Métis or Inuit heritage: Building the foundations"
The School of Communication Sciences and Disorders in partnership with Office of First Nations and Inuit Education is pleased to announce a talk by Barbara May Bernhardt in the run up to the Symposium on the Role of the University in Supporting Indigenous Languages. For more information on the upcoming McGill Symposium on the Role of the University in Supporting Indigenous Languages please visit the facebook event page.
LOCATION: 2001 McGill College, room 547
Barbara May Bernhardt, PhD, Professor Emerita, School of Audiology and Speech Sciences, University of British Columbia
The 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Report suggests 94 Calls to Action, some of which directly pertain to provision of audiology and speech-language pathology services. Although many speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and audiologists are providing such services to people of First Nations, Métis and Inuit heritage in Canada, most have received minimal training concerning culturally competent and safe practices in their university training programs or clinical contexts. Fundamental to development of cultural competence is for individuals to: (1) acknowledge her or his own identity, heritage, and biases; (2) critically self-reflect on how that identity, heritage and bias may influence interactions with others; and (3) gather, analyse and conduct critical self-evaluative reflection on the history, cultures and perspectives of people with First Nations, Métis and Inuit background. Building on these foundations, and in partnership with Aboriginal communities, service providers can then develop culturally responsive and safe practices for working with different people of Aboriginal heritage. Drawing on her 9-year experience with the UBC School of Audiology and Speech Sciences course development in this topic area and recent research, Dr. Bernhardt will outline approaches to culturally safe and competent practices for people of First Nations, Métis or Inuit heritage.
Barbara May Bernhardt was on faculty at the School of Audiology and Speech Sciences at the University of British Columbia from 1990-2017. She has also been a practicing speech-language pathologist since 1972. Her primary focus is phonological development, assessment and intervention across languages. Outcomes of an ongoing international crosslinguistic project include the website phonodevelopment.sites.olt.ubc.ca. Other areas of expertise include use of ultrasound in speech therapy, language development, assessment and intervention and approaches to service delivery to Indigenous people in Canada. Regarding the latter, she conducted and supervised several qualitative research studies and co-developed the course "Approaches to audiology and speech-language pathology for people of First Nations, Métis and Inuit heritage in Canada" for the School (2009). She has recently been volunteering with the Centre for Indigenous Health at UBC regarding a new introductory interprofessional curriculum concerning health practices in First Nations contexts.
