Kate Ledingham

How Speech Pathologists Keep Women Safe Everywhere

How Speech Pathologists Help Keep Women Safe — Everywhere, Always

A message from SpeechCare, in support of UN Women

When we talk about keeping women safe, people usually think of emergency services, shelters, or frontline responders. But safety also starts somewhere quieter, smaller, and more human: communication.

At SpeechCare, we work with people who communicate differently — because of trauma, disability, neurodivergence, sensory differences, or communication disorders. These communication differences matter deeply when we talk about women’s safety.

And today, as we raise funds for UN Women, we want to show exactly why.

Up to 20% of People Have Communication Differences — And They Are More Vulnerable

Research shows that up to 20% of people experience communication difficulties at some point in their lives.

This includes women who are:

• autistic or ADHD
• living with developmental language disorder
• using AAC
• experiencing trauma-related shutdowns
• managing sensory overload
• living with speech or fluency disorders
• recovering from brain injury or neurological conditions

These women face higher rates of misunderstanding, gaslighting, coercion, and violence — not because of who they are, but because society often doesn’t know how to listen.

Women who communicate differently are more likely to:

• be dismissed or disbelieved
• be seen as “confused,” “unreliable,” or “non-compliant”
• struggle to explain what happened during a traumatic event
• freeze, shut down, or lose words under stress
• rely on communication partners who may not be safe
• have fewer accessible ways to ask for help

Safety is not just physical. It’s communicative.

And that’s where trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming speech pathologists play a crucial role.

Communication Is a Safety Skill, Not Just a Clinical One

Speech pathologists help women find communication that feels safe, supported, and true to them.

That might mean:

• reclaiming their voice after trauma
• learning how to communicate boundaries
• understanding shutdowns, scripts, or overwhelm
• building confidence to report harm
• decoding sensory–communication links
• learning language for safety, advocacy, and self-protection

When communication becomes accessible, women gain power.

Power to say no.

Power to say this isn’t okay.

Power to say I need help.

Power to tell their story — in their own way, at their own pace.

AAC and Non-Speaking Communication Are Powerful Tools for Safety

Some women speak. Some don’t. Some speak sometimes. Some only speak when safe.

Speech pathologists help women use AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) for:

• making safety plans
• reporting unsafe behaviour
• identifying who they can trust
• expressing sensory overwhelm
• managing shutdowns or panic
• telling their story without pressure to speak

AAC can be a voice when words disappear.

It can be the difference between “I can’t say it” and “I can show you.”

And that can be life-saving.

We See the Barriers Others Miss

Women with communication differences often face invisible barriers:

• being talked over
• not being given time to respond
• being pressured to “mask”
• sensory overload in courts or hospitals
• being told their communication style is “rude,” “dramatic,” or “not credible”
• freezing or losing speech in stressful moments
• having their AAC ignored or doubted

All of this increases vulnerability.

A trauma-informed SLP recognises these barriers immediately.

We slow down.

We listen differently.

We understand that communication is not a performance — it is survival.

We Don’t Teach People to Communicate Better. We Teach Systems to Listen Better.

Safety isn’t just about a woman improving her communication.

It’s about the world improving its listening.

So we train workplaces, schools, health professionals, and families to:

• respect natural communication differences
• understand tone, bluntness, scripts, and echolalia
• accept AAC as equal to speech
• recognise signs of overload or shutdown
• avoid microaggressions
• communicate without coercion
• create sensory-safe environments

When systems change, women become safer.

We Advocate Every Day — Quietly, Loudly, and Consistently

At SpeechCare, we advocate:

• for women whose words come out tangled
• for women who communicate with gestures, devices, or pictures
• for women who shut down when overwhelmed
• for women who have been told their communication is “wrong”
• for women who were not believed the first time they spoke up
• for women who need a safe place to practise having a voice

This is our everyday work.

This is our contribution to a safer world.

Why We’re Supporting UN Women

UN Women works globally to protect, empower, and support women — especially those at highest risk of harm.

They fund:

• crisis shelters
• frontline services
• support for survivors
• education programs
• community safety initiatives
• advocacy for gender equality

The safety of women with communication differences is often overlooked — but UN Women’s mission includes every woman, everywhere, always.

Donate to UN Women — and Help Protect Women Who Communicate Differently

Your donation helps build a world where:

• every woman’s communication is respected
• AAC is accepted
• trauma doesn’t silence anyone
• women can speak or type or point or sign — and still be believed
• safety is a right, not a privilege 

Thank you for caring about communication.

Thank you for caring about safety.

And thank you for standing with us — and with women everywhere.

— Kate