My father-in-law, Terry, recently passed away. He was 83 – vital, athletic, funny, fiercely intelligent, and extremely social. He was a joke teller, folk singer, verbal sparring partner, and raconteur. In short, he was the life of the party. For the past few years or so, though, I noticed that he began to “sit out” conversations, especially at the dinner table. While we were laughing and talking and eating, he would remain silent. Terry had Parkinson’s Disease which can slow a whole variety of systems from speaking and swallowing to thinking and processing. What I didn’t realize (and I’m an SLP!) is that we were all talking so quickly and the conversation was jumping from topic to topic and person to person so fast, that by the time he heard what we said, swallowed his food, and formulated his thoughts, we were already on to the next thing. It wasn’t that he had nothing to contribute, it’s that we didn’t actively include him.
Now, the holidays are a time for many of us to get together with friends and with families of origin and choice. My bet is that some of those folks might easily feel left out around a boisterous holiday dinner table. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 5-10% of Americans have some sort of communication difficulty and 37.5 million Americans have at least some trouble hearing. And many of those impairments are “hidden” or “invisible.” This holiday season, remember to include those who may have trouble hearing and/or speaking. If your grandmother isn’t joining in the fun, if your friend with hearing loss is sitting alone while everyone has a good time, go up to them and use some of these great communication strategies listed below. And have a happy, inclusive holiday!
Michael Starr, M.A., CCC-SLP
Clinical Faculty
