The right to understand and be understood of persons with disabilities who communicate through assistive products: Study on the role of the expert facilitator

Abstract

The recent changes introduced in national legislation to harmonize it with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities have transformed a traditionally paternalistic justice system into a renewed system that recognizes their legal personality without restriction. In addition to the removal of obstacles, under a constitutional framework of universally accessible judicial environments, adjustments have been made to enable their participation with full guarantees. In this context, the role of the facilitator arises, whose objective is to ensure understandable two-way communication between the person with disability and the legal operators. Their intervention, still in its early stages of regulation, is crucial to ensure equal access to justice. Thus, and until its practical development generates evidence on the effectiveness of procedural adjustments applied in interventions with persons who communicate through assistive products, the dissemination and knowledge of this communicative means, as well as the training of legal professionals, are key so that, in the current legislative scenario, this group of persons can have equal access and exercise their right to understand and be understood with their assistive product.