Health information and education needs for youth with complex communication needs during the Covid-19 pandemic: rehabilitation professionals' perspectives.

PURPOSE: The worldwide Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted inequities faced by persons with complex communication needs (CCN) in accessing health information and education. This study reports on the perspectives of South African rehabilitation professionals regarding access to health information and education for youth with CCN. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two asynchronous online written focus groups were conducted with 15 rehabilitation professionals. Participants' contributions were thematically analysed. RESULTS: Participants reported that youth with CCN faced a variety of challenges when accessing health information, related, amongst others, to the format and quality of the information. Participants reported on strategies they had successfully used to support comprehension of health information and the youth's communication during healthcare encounters. Participants suggested various Covid-19-related and general health topics of value to youth, as well as a variety of multimodal and multilingual presentation formats to make health information accessible. This information was used in the development of accessible health information resources that are now freely available on the authors' institutional website. CONCLUSIONS: The results confirmed that there is an urgent need to make accessible health information available in order to include South Africans with CCN in health services during the pandemic and beyond. Implications for rehabilitationHealth information and education (including information and education provided with respect to the Covid-19 pandemic) has often not been accessible to youth with complex communication needs (CCN).South African rehabilitation professionals reported on a variety of challenges that youth with CCN face when attempting to access health information and education, but also reported on strategies that had helped to support them in this.They also highlighted Covid-19-related and general health topics that would be of value to youth, and suggested a variety of information formats and strategies to make health information more accessible.This information can assist in the design of appropriate and accessible health information resources for youth with CCN and other individuals who experience communication challenges.

Multilingualism and augmentative and alternative communication: examining language ideology and resulting practices.

Although the literature suggests that multilingual augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) interventions hold benefits for children from multilingual backgrounds, there is little guidance on how such interventions can be implemented. While various barriers to this process have been noted, language ideology has not received much attention in the AAC literature. This paper aims to highlight multilingualism as both a linguistic and a sociopolitical phenomenon. An awareness of the influence of language ideology on AAC practice may lead to more considered and reflective approaches when supporting multilingual clients and their families. A description of the multilingual experience is followed by a discussion of language ideologies and views of multilingualism and how these may translate into AAC practices. Through a series of questions, AAC practitioners are encouraged to reflect on the influence of language ideology on their practices. The influence of language ideology on the legal and policy context, service models, and family language practices and choices is then explored. By situating AAC interventions for children from multilingual backgrounds within a macrosystemic and ideological framework, researchers and practitioners may be able to identify not just constraints on but also opportunities for providing person- and family-centered intervention.