ACQ Vol 10 No 1 2008

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24 Speech Pathology Australia
ment of the profession has been more organic, growing from
a need recognised by local health professionals.
Regardless of the origins of the profession in neighbouring
countries, we in Australia have much to learn. All countries in
our region are grappling with how to provide speech
pathology services to multilingual, multicultural populations.
Many could be said to be further ahead of the profession in
Australia in developing culturally appropriate
assessment tools and therapy resources. Several
countries are creatively engaged in developing
“whole of population” services and reaching out to
underserved communities.
We aim to make this column a regular feature in
the ACQ over the next few years. Speech pathology
associations or individuals in the Asia-Pacific
region will be invited to contribute columns which
can inform us about the history of the profession,
the current size and scope of practice of the
profession, research and resource development,
recent achievements of the profession and current challenges
and needs of the profession in their country.
Most Australian speech pathologists would say they
know a reasonable amount about the profession of
speech pathology in Australia. But how much do we know
about the profession of speech pathology in other countries in
the Asia-Pacific region of which we are a part? There is much
we could learn from the practice of speech pathology in our
region, but some countries do not have a journal for the
dissemination of information and research. Others
do publish journals and hold regular conferences,
but these are rarely accessed by the majority of
Australian speech pathologists. This column aims
to provide a means for Australian speech path­
ologists to learn about speech pathology in the
Asia-Pacific region.
Speech pathology exists in many forms in the
Asia-Pacific region. For example, there are
formalised speech pathology professions in several
countries including New Zealand, Malaysia,
Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan,
India, and Sri Lanka. In addition, speech pathology services
are delivered by volunteers in a host of other countries
including Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Fiji, Bangladesh,
and Nepal. These volunteers may be affiliated with gov­
ernment agencies such as Australian Volunteers International
or the Australian Youth Ambassador Development Program,
a range of non-government organisations such as Rotary
International or church-based charities, or universities
offering international placements. Furthermore, services
labelled as speech pathology are sometimes delivered by
medical or educational personnel. For example, I can think of
examples in Vietnam and Nepal, two countries without
formalised speech pathology services, where nurses, paedi­
atricians or teachers who have done short courses in speech
therapy offered by aid organisations in-country or overseas,
run “speech therapy programs” in children’s hospitals or
community-based rehabilitation centres. The growing
demand for speech pathology services in our regions offers
many opportunities for Australian speech pathologists to get
involved in the development and delivery of speech
pathology services, as witnessed by the interest in Speech
Pathology Australia’s new Member Network of Speech
Pathologists in Developing Countries.
The history of the speech pathology profession in neigh­
bouring countries is of interest to us. In some countries, the
profession has grown from services offered initially in schools;
in others, especially in developing countries, the profession
has started and often remains in medical settings. In some
countries, the profession developed from speech pathology-
educated ex-pats lobbying for the establishment of training
courses and expanded services. In other countries, the develop­
Speech Pathology in the Asia Pacific
Region – Learning from our Neighbours
Lindy McAllister
Lindy McAllister has a long standing professional
interest in the Asia Pacific region. As Associate Professor
of Speech Pathology at Charles Sturt University she
initiated the Carrick Institute award winning Vietnam
fieldwork program for allied health students. She is also
an external examiner for the speech language therapy
courses at the National University of Malaysia, Kelanya
University in Sri Lanka, and Auckland University in New
Zealand. While President of Speech Pathology Australia
she sought to develop closer links with our sister
associations in the Asia Pacific region, and more recently
helped initiate the Member Network for Speech
Pathologists in Developing Countries. Lindy believes
there is much we can learn from the speech pathology
profession in our region.
Lindy McAllister
NEW COLUMN
Correspondence to:
Lindy McAlllister PhD Life Memeber SPAA CPSP
Associate Professor of Speech Pathology
School of Community Health and
Deputy Director Education for Practice Institute
Charles Sturt University
PO Box 789, Albury, NSW 2640
Australia
phone: 02 6051 6750
fax: 02 6051 6727
email:
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