IASLT has teamed up with the Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee of the School of Health Sciences in the University of Galway to record a series of podcasts related to EDI in Speech and Language Therapy. Divya Ravikumar and Mary-Pat O Malley lead the Culture Working Group in the School of Health Sciences EDI Committee at the University of Galway. They said “we wanted to shine a spotlight on issues of diversity and the experiences of being in a minority in the SLT profession as a starting point for addressing the topic across health care professions. We realised that this aligned with the IASLT Strategic Plan 2023-2025 Area 3 Inclusion & Diversity and agreed to collaborate with IASLT to develop a series of podcasts on the topic for the IASLT In Conversation podcast. These podcasts can be used to help both SLTs in training and SLTs develop their cultural sensitivity.” 

There are 4 podcasts in total and one podcast will be released monthly.

Episode 3: Dr Séan Pert

In this episode, Séan Pert shares his experiences of gendered expectations of how to interact with clients on placement, the benefits of being a male SLT where male clients and fathers find it easier to identify with a male SLT,  having to invent your professional persona because of a lack of role models in the profession, and breaking down barriers for men to enter the profession by having conversations about men in SLT. Séan also talks about linguistic racism, the importance of supporting home languages for bilingual clients, and working to ensure equity in service provision for all clients. 

Biography:

Dr Séan Pert qualified as a Speech and Language Therapist from Manchester Metropolitan University in 1995. Sean’s PhD examined code switching (the use of bilingual utterances) and how errors in this domain could be used as a clinical marker for identifying Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) in bilingual children. Séan has extensive clinical experience in the National Health Service and the Charity Sector. Séan has been a Senior Clinical Lecturer at The University of Manchester since 2014, where he teaches Clinical Phonetics (IPA Clinical Transcription), Speech Sound Disorder (SSD Analysis and Intervention), Bilingualism, and Voice & Communication Therapy (VCT) for trans and gender diverse individuals. Séan is also the Lead Consultant for the Indigo Gender Service, Greater Manchester, and the Chair of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT). Séan is the first 'out' gay person and the first man to hold the position of Chair of RCSLT (October 2022 to October 2024).