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32 JCPSLP Volume 14, Number 1 2012 Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology
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1 Tenet: any opinion, principle, doctrine, dogma, etc., especially
one held as true by members of a profession, group, or
movement )
Intervention provided within the existing
community services
These strong relationships allow families to receive services
in an environment that may be perceived as less
threatening than attending a mainstream health or
education service. The Awabakal Cooperative is a well-
established service which caters to the needs of the
Aboriginal people of the Greater Newcastle area, which is
the urban centre of the Hunter Region; one of the services
provided by the Awabakal Cooperative is the Awabakal
Children’s Service. The children attending the Awabakal
Children’s Services come from a variety of linguistic
backgrounds with their main language being Aboriginal
English, ranging along the spectrum of “heavy” to “light”
(Butcher, 2008).
Group intervention to avoid
“Shame” response
The Little Yarns project is funded as a prevention/early
intervention program; as such it services all children
attending the centre, because they are acknowledged to be
at-risk of developing language/literacy impairment, due to
their Aboriginality (Williams & Masterton, 2011). Children are
seen within the regular classroom or playground and small
group intervention activities aim to avoid a Shame response
and benefit target children within the group (Nelson &
Allison, 2004); prevention activities, such as training in
phonemic awareness skills, aim to benefit all the children
attending the service.
Flexible approach in terms of
service delivery
The timeframe for service provision is flexible to suit the
Aboriginal people and, within the scope of the project, the
manner of service delivery is decided in consultation with
the community.
Preliminary findings
The project is currently undergoing an external evaluation
process. Preliminary findings from annual questionnaires
distributed to staff have indicated that families are being
supported to access mainstream services. Aboriginal staff
members also reported increased knowledge about
language impairment and confidence in dealing with
children with language impairment. Little Yarns staff
reported increased awareness of Aboriginal culture and
ways of learning and interacting. Families of children
attending the service are also being interviewed. It is hoped
that the results of this evaluation will indicate the extent to
which the aims of the project are being met.
Summary
The innovative service described here has explored
alternative ways of service delivery to the Aboriginal
population based on literature finding and consultation.
Specifically, some of the aspects which differ from a more
traditional clinical model are the consultation process
involved prior to and throughout the intervention; the
nurturing of relationships on several levels to allow mutual
trust and respect to develop; the provision of services
within an already existing Aboriginal community service; and
the flexible timeframe and manner of service delivery.
Speech pathologists working with Aboriginal clients need to
consider these basic tenets, as well as any local
differences, if they are to intervene successfully with this
population.
Gwendalyn Webb is a speech pathologist working in the Little Yarns
Program with Firstchance Inc. She is also a conjoint lecturer and
clinical educator for the University of Newcastle.
Correspondence to:
Gwendalyn Webb
Speech Pathologist, MA (Ling)
Firstchance Inc.
48 Corona Street, Hamilton, NSW, 2303
phone: +61 (0)2 4961 5886
mob: 0400 270 174
email: