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18

Speak Out

February 2013

Speech Pathology Australia

P

rivate practitioners

are accustomed to receiving

requests for far reaching school

visits, but this opportunity has proven

to be one of a kind. Five years and

seven visits later, speech pathology

is gathering momentum at Nyngan

Public School.

Nyngan is located in the heart of

NSW in the Orana region, between

Narromine and Bourke. It has

a relatively small population of

2,500, with a greater percentage of

Indigenous community members (15%)

in comparison with Australia in general

(2.3%; Australian Bureau of Statistics,

2006). It is a supportive farming and

mining community.

The speech and language program at

Nyngan Public School has developed

collaboratively from the outset and

each year continues to evolve and

improve. The program has been made

possible due to funding through the

Priority Schools Program (PSP), which

allows schools in low socioeconomic

areas to access money to address

individual school needs. Staff had

become concerned with the increasing

number of students with speech and

language difficulties and the impact

that this was having on their academic

outcomes. They therefore decided that

these skills should be a particular area

of focus.

The speech and language program

commenced with training staff in

identifying and remediating language

and literacy related difficulties. I was

honoured to be able to present the

program plan to key members of the

community at an evening gathering.

Initially the focus was on evaluation,

as many of the students had been

on waitlists for speech and language

assessments. The remoteness of

Nyngan added to the barrier of access

to services, both public and private.

With time, staff training, and discussion

with teachers and parents, the school

has developed independence in their

implementation and adjustments to

the program as needed. Aides are

able to conduct speech and language

screening assessments and identify

students requiring formal assessment.

Strong links are in place connecting

language and literacy development in

therapy sessions and in the classroom.

Rural speech pathologists work within

close-knit, spirited communities.

This year my family was invited to

accompany me on my visit and my

children attended school with me each

day. It was a wonderful opportunity for

them to appreciate both the challenges

and freedom of rural life.

In 2013 we have negotiated school-

wide language enrichment sessions

to be conducted each day in addition

to individual and group sessions

for identified students. I have also

discussed a clinical education program

with the executive staff and plan to

take speech pathology students to be

part of the program.

The evolution of the Nyngan speech

and language program seems

to mirror the history of my own

professional growth. This year I

celebrate 20 years of private practice.

Since graduating in 1993, I have taken

on many challenges, both clinically

and business related. My business has

grown from being a sole practitioner

to employing five full-time speech

pathologists working with mixed

paediatric and adult caseloads across

the Nepean and Blue Mountains

region.

In looking back, I could never have

envisaged the ways in which my career

would not only enrich my life, but that

of my family’s lives. Speech pathology

has also improved the quality of a

number of my close family’s lives,

who have called upon the skills of the

profession to guide their swallowing

and communication skills. I am now

looking forward to continuing my

speech pathology journey, wherever it

may take me.

Belinda Hill

NSW Branch Private Practitioner Member

Network Representative and Director of

Belinda Hill & Associates –

Speech-language pathologists

Private Practice goes Rural: The Nyngan

Speech and Language Program

Supportive environment:

Students from Nyngan Public

School have benefited from

the introduction of a dedicated

speech and language program.

Report on school-based speech and language program