24 Speak Out
December 2014
Speech Pathology Australia
BRANCH news
south australia
South Australian
school students
turned to smartphone technology
to demonstrate the importance
of communication in a short film
competition as part of the International
Communication Project (ICP2014).
Posing the question, “Why is
communication vital to life?”, members
of the Community Awareness working
group asked school students to highlight
the importance of building awareness
of communication as a basic human
right, and the impact communication
difficulties can have within schools and
the community.
The competition was open to students
enrolled in year levels 6–10 in South
Australian schools. Entries were to be
two minutes in length and produced
using a smart device to demonstrate
how communication can be shared
using modern day technology.
The winners of the short film competition
were Year 6 students Cameron, Olivia
and Jordan from St Paul Lutheran
School. Their short film titled
Save Me
was produced at their school and it can
be viewed on the
The students were presented with
certificates and prizes at the school
assembly and many thanks go to Event
Cinemas, Hoyts Cinema and Stephanie
Mallen at Mindfield Book Gallery for their
generous donations.
In an interview, Cameron, Olivia and
Jordan shared their thoughts behind
creating the short film. Cameron, the
film’s creator and editor, is a keen
filmmaker and was inspired by the
competition. Olivia and Jordan, the
two actresses in the film, were keen
to inspire other children to improve
their communication and participate
in the film because it was for a good
cause – despite one student having a
little stage fright.
The students shared their knowledge
of how speech pathologists help the
community in various areas, with two of
the students speaking about personal
experiences of working with speech
pathologists individually and with their
families.
In response to the competition’s
question, “Why is communication
vital to life?”, the students felt that
communication is part of our everyday
life and if people were unable to talk,
write, email or text each other there
would be no way to tell others how and
what we were feeling and thinking.
Cameron, Olivia and Jordan commented
that it would be difficult for people to
access the help they needed if they
struggled to communicate with others.
The students felt that without the ability
to communicate, an individual would
struggle to learn and it would be more
difficult to develop as a person. On
reflection the students felt that there
would be little point in living as part of a
community, as you wouldn’t know what
the people around you expected of you.
Cameron, Olivia and Jordan
encourage other students to support
Speech Pathology Australia as an
association, particularly their local
practicing speech pathologists, as
they help people with special needs.
Agreeing that communication is
often difficult for many people, the
students felt that when individuals
are able to receive the support they
need, communication becomes less
complicated for everyone.
The Community Awareness working
group members of the SA Branch
Executive would like to thank all who
participated in the short film competition
and encourage everyone to continue
to promote and challenge others
about why communication is vital to
their lives.
Abbey Homfray
Community Awareness Working Group
Leader, SPA SA Branch
Well done to our Short Film Competition winners!
Above: Competition winners Jordan, Olivia
and Cameron from St Paul Lutheran School
created the short film
Save Me
to highlight the
importance of basic communication in people’s
lives. Right: The competition prizes were
certificates and donations from Event Cinema,
Hoyts Cinema, and Mindfield Book Gallery.
