In 2018, the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) Ad Hoc Committee on Facilitated Communication and Rapid Prompting Method released the Position Statements against FC and RPM. ASHA also published FAQs on the two position statements. ASHA supports interventions and services leading to independent communication. "Facilitated Communication (FC)—also referred to as "Assisted Typing," "Facilitated Communication Training," and "Supported Typing"—is... Continue Reading →
5. Blog
Twitter, and the Human Right of Communication
Using Twitter to access the human right of communication for people who use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Aims: This study aimed to train three people who use AAC to use Twitter. An analysis of their Twitter activity measured the impact of the training on follower count, frequency of tweeting, tweet content and the development... Continue Reading →
Hashtag #TBI: Tweets about Traumatic Brain Injury
Hashtag #TBI: A content and network data analysis of tweets about Traumatic Brain Injury Aims: This study used a systematic search process in Twitter to identify tweets about Traumatic Brain Injury during a brain injury awareness month in March, 2016. Tweets were identified using a range of #hashtags relating to TBI. The research had... Continue Reading →
Legal and Ethical Issues of MyHR for Older Children
Legal and Ethical Issues Surrounding the Use of Older Children’s Electronic Personal Health Records Aims & Method: This literature review and discussion examined the legal and ethical issues arising from electronic health records for children over 14-years of age. The review examined peer-reviewed articles, grey literature (key agency reports and policy documents), legislation relating... Continue Reading →
Participation, Inclusion, Quality of Life and Dysphagia
Rapid Review of Speech Pathology Interventions to Improve Participation, Inclusion and Quality of Life for People with Dysphagia The full text of this review is available here: Bryant and Hemsley 2018 Evidence Summary Dysphagia Mealtimes Participation UTS 2018 SUMMARY Dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) is associated with a wide range of limitations and restrictions in a person’s... Continue Reading →
Views and Experiences of People with TBI in Using Social Media
‘I kind of figured it out’: the views and experiences of people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in using social media — self‐determination for participation and inclusion online. Aims: This qualitative interview study examined the views and experiences of 13 people with TBI and cognitive-communication disability to identify: The nature of their social media experience;... Continue Reading →
Advance Care Directives and the Australian MyHR
Legal and Ethical Issues Surrounding Advance Care Directives in Australia: Implications for the Advance Care Planning Document in the Australian My Health Record Aims & Method: This literature review and discussion examined the legal and ethical issues relating to Advance Care Planning and Advance Care Directives in Australia. The review examined peer-reviewed articles written prior... Continue Reading →
Engaging patients and valuing their use of My Health Record
Article Title: Avoiding Failure for Australia’s Digital Health Record: The Findings from a Rural E-Health Participatory Research Project Aims / method: This qualitative research study used interviews and focus groups to examine the experiences of people with chronic illness (n=19) and their carers, and health promotion officers (2) when using the Personal Health Note within... Continue Reading →
Inclusion of People with Communication Disability in Twitter
Bronwyn Hemsley, Stuart Palmer, and Babak Abedin have been working on Twitter research, and have made several discoveries relevant to determining a metric for measuring the inclusion of people with communication disability in Twitter. Research publications related to their work are listed here. Abedin, B. (2018). Why social media are more like chocolate than cigarettes.... Continue Reading →
History and Ongoing Challenges of Australian e-Health Record Systems
Article Title: National electronic health record systems as ‘wicked projects’: The Australian experience Aims & Method: This review of public policy initiatives aimed to identify and discuss why attempts to implement electronic health record systems at a national scale frequently run into trouble. It also examined why lessons from the past seemingly do not inform... Continue Reading →
Communication Disability, Safety, and Digital Health Research 