JCPSLP Vol 14 No 1 2012

JCPSLP

Volume 14, Number 1 2012

Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology

Research update

Carl Parsons

placements and provided over $20 million in services to

the Australian community. The foundation’s long-term aim

is to have a speech pathologist or special educator placed

in every school in Australia. The foundation is gradually

expanding its services to rural and remote areas outside

of Victoria. As part of this move to rural areas, in 2009–10

the foundation entered into a partnership with Charles Sturt

University (CSU), School of Community Health, Department

of Speech Pathology. The aim of this partnership was to

utilise speech pathology students to provide a range of

programs for children in three preschools and four primary

schools in a remote rural area of NSW. The schools are

geographically 600 km west of Sydney with the largest

towns of Bathurst at 250 km to the east and Dubbo to the

north at 230 km. There are two small towns (separated

by 100km) where the schools are located, with a total

population of approximately 5000. The area was originally

inhabited by the Wiradjuri people and the towns’ population

is estimated at between 20 and 40% Aboriginal people.

The foundation also established a partnership with the

Department of Families, Housing, Community Services

and Indigenous Affairs and the Wagga Wagga Indigenous

Coordination Centre. Through these partnerships the

foundation was able to work with the local schools

in a rural community to obtain some in-kind support

(accommodation for staff and students) for a series of

speech pathology programs. The Fildes Foundation

provided all equipment including screening, assessment

and therapy materials. The foundation provided some

additional funding for students’ meals and petrol costs. The

foundation paid for organisational costs, supervisory staff,

and organisational and management time. The foundation

purchased a colour laser printer for use during the program.

Europcars Australia provided two 6- seater vehicles for the

last program for 4 weeks.

The agreement was that with support from university

students from CSU and students at LaTrobe University we

would offer 1) screenings to all the preschool students,

cAllister and colleagues (McAllister, 2005;

McAllister & Lincoln, 2004; McAllister et al.,

2004) have urged the profession to seek new

mechanisms to provide clinical experiences to students. In

a number of her publications she has pointed out that the

changing nature of the profession requires that attention

be given to rural and remote areas of Australia, and some

special attention to Aboriginal communities. One model for

rural and remote placements using non-traditional sites and

partnerships was recently introduced by Jones et al. (2011).

Their program utilised 3 groups of final year students

(a total of 17), who participated in a 6-week placement.

Students worked in pairs running clinics at local primary

schools, which were supervised by local speech

pathologists. Individual student needs were closely

monitored and tailored levels of clinical and non-clinical

supervision/support were developed to enhance participant

experiences. Students also participated in the local inter-

professional learning program. The curriculum requirements

for the placement were determined and monitored by

academic staff from the Faculty of Health Sciences,

University of Sydney and delivered collaboratively on-site.

Projects such as these give students in speech pathology

a unique opportunity to learn about rural and remote living.

They also provide an opportunity for the rural communities

to have increased access to speech pathology services.

The Andrew Dean Fildes Foundation for Language-

Learning Disabilities was established in 1986. Its primary

aim is to provide screening, comprehensive assessments,

and intensive therapy programs for students with language-

learning disabilities. In 2009, the foundation was awarded

the Community Contribution award by Speech Pathology

Australia for providing a significant and valuable contribution

to the speech pathology profession. The foundation

organises placements in schools for university students

and employs clinical education supervisors for overseeing

students on placements to ensure quality programs are

offered. The foundation has provided over 350 clinical

Andrew Dean Fildes Foundation

for Language-Learning Disabilities

Increasing student experiences with children in rural and

remote areas

Carl Parsons

Table 1. Number of university students involved, supervisors, program type, and duration

Number of students

University

Full-time supervisors

Program type

Duration

CSU

Screening

1 week

CSU

Screening

1 week

4 + 4

CSU + LaTrobe

Screen + assessments*

1 week

LaTrobe

Intensive therapy

2 weeks

LaTrobe

2 (but 6 different staff)

Intensive therapy

4 weeks

The uni students worked from 8.30 to 5.00 each day. They worked with clients from 9.00am until 3.30.

* For the assessment program, two 4th year occupational therapy students from Deakin University were also involved.