"When The Heart of the Student-Clinician Becomes the Voice of the Community: Moving the Needle from Justice-Centered Pedagogy to High-Impact Advocacy"

Abstract: This presentation will demonstrate how student clinicians can identify systemic barriers to communication access and design measurable advocacy initiatives that support community clients through reflective practice and Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) goal development through the Lehman College graduate course, Social Justice in Speech-Language Pathology — a case study for equity-focused pedagogy and high-impact clinical advocacy. Rooted in the philosophy that justice is the public face of love, the curriculum challenges students to move from theoretical understanding and toward transformative learning experiences that center marginalized populations that they know through interdisciplinary principles of social justice and cultural responsivity that help student clinicians identify systemic, linguistic, and cultural barriers that obstruct equitable access to service provision.