Global partnerships to create communication resources addressing Sustainable Development Goals 3, 4, 8, 10, and 17.

PURPOSE: This commentary describes the development of global partnerships, capacity-building, and the basis for the creation of a website (Leadersproject.org) used throughout the world that contains free educational resources for the assessment and treatment of people with communication disabilities (PWCD). This website contains speech-language assessment and treatment materials, online skill-building courses, over 200 instructional videos, train-the-trainer course materials, and syntheses of important research and trainings in over 30 languages. This commentary relates the work from leadersproject.org to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). RESULT: Through this website, the authors have established ongoing global partnerships with other health and education professionals. Moreover, PWCD and their families have used the website for information and support throughout the world. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and other health and education professionals use these materials to host capacity-building trainings and to support the development of knowledge and skills to local professionals for the benefit of PWCD. The Leadersproject.org resources have been influential and impactful as measured by approximately 24 000 visits from over 130 countries throughout the world. CONCLUSION: The authors of this paper continue to establish partnerships worldwide to spread education and increase the quality of care provided to PWCD. This commentary paper focuses on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): good health and well-being (SDG 3), quality education (SDG 4), decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), reduced inequalities (SDG 10), partnerships for the goals (SDG 17).

Collaborations to address barriers for people with communication disabilities in Ghana: considering the World Report on Disability.

The World Health Organization's World Report on Disability underscores the need to identify and address barriers that limit people with disabilities from having access to services. Wylie, McAllister, Davidson, and Marshall (2013) consider the impact of that report on people with communication disabilities (PWCD). Over the past 5 years, the authors have worked together in Ghana to address the needs of PWCD. With only about 10 university-trained speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in Ghana, the barriers to PWCD receiving services are quite high. The authors are working together and with others to establish the first speech-language pathology program in Ghana. The authors also work to identify ways to share with PWCD and their families knowledge and skills on how to improve the communicative function of PWCD. In doing so, the authors have learned valuable lessons about the role of an SLP, especially when considering under-served PWCD, lessons that are applicable to both Majority and Minority World countries. This commentary describes the authors' work over the past 5 years, and describes initiatives that have had some measure of success in reducing barriers to access to information and services needed by PWCD and their caregivers and communities.