Speak_Out_June_2013

Education Support training

Volunteering insights

I N 2011, Speech Pathology in the Department of Education (Learning Services North) were approached to provide an information session for Tasmanian Polytechnic Certificate III Education Support students. The brief was to provide students with an understanding of the role of a teacher’s aide working with students who need intervention from, and/or assistance of, a speech pathologist. Support and training for Education Support students at the Tasmanian Polytechnic

Speech pathology work at a ‘ healing home ’ in China

I SPENT A LITTLE over a week volunteering at a ‘healing home’ called Charity Dream Shanghai Healing Home. Orphans or abandoned children with cleft lip and palate (pre- and post-surgery) receive special care at this foster home. In addition, the home also raises money for their operations. Children with cleft lip and palate are by default at high risk of delayed speech and language skills. Throw in the fact that these kids are in an orphanage, and their starting point for speech and language development is even further behind. It wasn’t surprising that despite the fact that the home was such a bright, happy place, with nurturing nannies (“ayis”), many, if not most of, the children there had significantly delayed language skills. Three days a week, some English-speaking volunteers run a language program in English using songs, rhymes, books, and signs for the one to two-year-old children. The kids also get Mandarin input with their ayis. Together with my co- volunteer and unofficial mentor, Angela Gong, M.S., CCC-SLP, our main role there was to further develop the language program spearheaded by some volunteers. I also saw a few children to conduct case studies on their speech and language abilities to

suggest goals and strategies. Thankfully, I did some preparation work prior to China by attending a cleft clinic at the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) in Melbourne. (Thanks, Andrea Verhoeven, senior clinician at the RCH, for graciously donating your time to impart knowledge to me to take to China!) I got a good refresher on working with this population. By the end of my time there, Angela and I had a working document with specific goals for the language program. We also proposed including a structured play-based session. We modeled a few sessions for the volunteers, which meant we were up there signing songs, rhyming, signing, and having a lot of fun with the kids! I also got to work individually with two kids, and prepared case studies for the Director to share with her team. Because I speak Mandarin, I was able to do some incidental teaching of language stimulation to the ayis and was able to sing some Mandarin rhymes and stories to include them in the program. Our time there was just a small beginning of many potential projects and trainings at that home. The experience in China was amazing, challenging and eye-opening. Speaking to Angela, a Chinese-American from New York who moved to Shanghai to work, as well as a

I was fortunate to get the opportunity to create and present this information to the students in 2011. I presented again to students in 2012 and will be presenting to the 2013 cohort

Communication impairment inAustralia

Helping yourbaby to talk

What isaSpeechPathologist?

What iscommunication? Communication involves speaking,hearing, listening,understanding, social skills, reading,writing and using voice. What iscommunication impairment? Peoplewhohavedifficulty communicatingmay requireassistancewith: Speech: involves saying the sounds inwords so thatpeoplecanunderstandwhat is being said.For example,a childwhodoesn’t saywords clearlyor an adultwho slurs their speech after an accident. Language: involves the exchangeof ideasusingwords,usually in spokenorwritten form. For example, a childwhohas troubleunderstanding and following instructionsoran adultwho can’t find the rightwords aftera stroke. Literacy: involves reading,understandingwhat is read andcommunicating inwritten form. SocialCommunication: ishowwe communicateand involves interpreting the contextof a conversation,understandingnon-verbal information and the social rulesof communication that areneeded todevelopa relationshipwith anotherperson. Voice: using the vocalcordsor voicebox toproduce speech.For example,apersonwho frequently loses their voiceor apersonwhohashad surgery for throatcancer. Fluency: commonly knownas stuttering.Thisproblem isusually firstnoticedwhen a child starts putting sentences togetherbut can continue into adulthood.

Language is fundamental to yourbaby’sdevelopment.Everybaby learns to speakby listening,playingwith sounds and talking toothers. Babiesbegin to learn from themoment theyareborn –first receptive language skills (understandingwhat theyhear), then expressive language skills (speaking). You canhelpdevelopboth kindsof language skillsby talking,watching, listening,playing and sharingbookswith yourbaby.

Talking •

Talktoyourbabyoften,speaking slowly,clearlyandsimply

•Watchyourbabyandcopytheir actionsandsounds.Showthem newactionsandactivities •Choosegamesandtoys appropriatetoyourbaby’sage thatencourageexploration, problemsolvingandinteraction betweenyouandyourbaby. • Fingergames,softdollsand stuffedtoys,balls,blocksand activityboardsallhelptodevelop yourbaby’sfingersandhands, aswellaslisteningandlearning skills •Buildarepertoireofsongsand rhymes.Singingthesamewords overandoveragainwillhelpyour babylearnlanguageandrhythm Sharebooks Earlyreadingpromotesgood languageandthinkingskills,preparing childrenforlearningtoreadandwrite. •Readtoandwithyourbabyfrom birth–makebookspartofyour dailyroutine •Choosebookswithlarge,bright

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Emphasisewordsfortheobjects mostcommonlyusedinyour baby’sworld •Useavarietyofwordstodescribe whatishappeningaroundyou,not justthenamesofthings •Repeatwords–yourbabywill begintounderstandthemeaning ofthemiftheyhearthemoften

Communication impairment ismorecommon than you think...

•13,000Australiansuse

•Childrenwithautism,Down Syndrome,andCerebralPalsy oftenbegintheirlifewitha communicationimpairment •20%offouryearoldchildren havedifficultyunderstandingor usinglanguage •14%of15yearoldshaveonly basicliteracyskills •28%ofteacherstaketimeoff workeachyearbecauseof voiceproblems •Atleast30%ofpeoplepost-stroke sufferlossoflanguage(aphasia) •85%ofthosewithParkinson’s diseasehavevoice,speechand/ orswallowingdifficulties

electroniccommunicationaids togettheirmessageacross

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Imitatethesoundsyourbaby makesorsaythewordthey maybetryingtouse •Commentonthesoundsyou heartodrawyourbaby’sattention tothesound Taketurnswhenyoutalkand play,pausingtolistenandspeak justlikeyouwouldinanadult conversation Playing •Babieslearnabouttalkingand listeningthroughplay,soit’s importanttosetasidetimetoplay withyourbabyeachday •Createopportunitiesforyourbaby toplaywithotherchildrenby joiningaplaygrouportoylibrary, •

Speechpathologists study,diagnoseand treatcommunicationdisorders, includingdifficulties with speech, language, swallowing,fluency and voice. Theyworkwithpeoplewhohavedifficulty communicatingbecauseofdevelopmentaldelays, stroke,brain injuries, learningdisability, intellectualdisability,cerebralpalsy,dementiaand hearing loss,aswellasotherproblems that canaffect speechand language.

•Childrenwithalanguage

impairmentaresixtimesmore likelytohaveareadingproblem thanchildrenwithout •46%ofyoungAustralianoffenders havealanguageimpairment •Thereisahighcorrelation betweencommunication difficultiesandpoormentalhealth •Threeinevery1,000newborns havehearingloss,whichwithout interventioncanaffecttheir

Peoplewho experiencedifficulties swallowing foodanddrink safelycanalsobehelpedby a speechpathologist.

(puttingwords together andbeing understood)or receptive language (understanding instructions and meanings).Speechpathologists alsoworkwithAugmentative and AlternativeCommunication (AAC), devices that helppeoplewho find itdifficult to speak orwrite to communicatemore easily.This can include ‘unaided systems’ like signing andgesturesor ‘aided systems’ likepicture charts,books and special computers ordevices.

Using assessment tools, speech pathologists are able todiagnose eachperson’s specificproblem and devise a treatmentplan thatbest suits their needs. Speechpathologists are specialists might visit a speechpathologist to help them understand and find the rightwords to use after a stroke, while a childmight need treatment to help their expressive language whoworkwithpeople across their entire lifespan.An adult

speech,languageandliteracy. Indigenouschildrenhavethree timesmorehearingproblems thannon-Indigenouschildren

pictures.Babieslovepicturesof otherbabiesandphotosoftheir family Pointtoandnameobjects,animals orpeople–eventuallyyourbaby willrespond

orspendingtimewithpeople whoalsohaveyoungchildren

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SPA's fact sheets have assisted Education Support students in understanding the work of speech pathologists.

in the next month. The feedback from Polytechnic students and staff has been overwhelmingly positive and I understand that they see the session as a valuable addition to the course. My presentation each year starts with a basic introduction of the work that speech pathologists do. The Speech Pathology Australia website and fact sheets have been very useful for this. We then discuss the role of speech pathologists working in schools. A large part of the session consists of information on how aides can best support children with communication difficulties at school (e.g. breaking down instructions, using visuals to support information, allowing a child more time to respond to questions). Each year I am genuinely surprised by the number of questions and level of enthusiasm from the students. It has been a wonderful opportunity to promote our profession, particularly in the school setting. Importantly, for our clients, it has been a great chance to teach some basic strategies for working with school students with communication difficulties. It is hoped that our positive relationship with the Education Support workers and students continues to grow, to ensure a broader understanding of speech pathology in education. Rachel Chivas Department of Education (Learning Services North) rachel.chivas@education.tas.gov.au

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Speak Out June 2013

Speech Pathology Australia