Speak Out December LOW RES FINAL 2017

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34 Speak Out December 2017
On the socials
The recently released Communication Milestones
Poster Kit had an unprecedented response
across Speech Pathology Australia’s social media
platforms, reaching a total of 217,000 people.
The kit was developed by a working group of
the Queensland Branch and National Office in a
project that spanned 18 months from planning to
distribution.
The social media posts generated unprecedented
stats from data collected between 8-20 November.
The post gathered 1,800 likes, 298 comments and
1,256 shares while reaching a total of 217,000
people!
Our Facebook page followers and likes jumped by
over 1000 people from the traffic this post created.
Clearly, the community and public want this sort of
resource. Congratulations to everyone involved in
putting it together!
Enclosed with this issue of Speak Out is a copy of
the poster. Or to download the resources kit go to:
Share your pics
Fancy yourself as a bit of a
photographer? We’re looking for
artistic photos of speechies in
action!
Send your shots to Ian at
support@
.
au and we’ll post our favourites
on the Speech Pathology Australia
Instagram account.
Make sure to let us know your
Instagram handle too so we can
tag your profile and credit you for
the picture.
Top stats for
poster post
More than 100 “soon-to-be” speech pathology graduates from
Australian Catholic University (ACU) demonstrated how their four
years of study would translate to the workplace at the National
School of Allied Health student conference on 2 November 2017.
Speech pathology honours research project outcomes and oral
presentations were among the wide range of work showcased on
the Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane campuses.
Students presented case study data based on placement at
organisations including early intervention agencies, community
health centres, and schools.
Tiarnee Iddles in Brisbane presented her honours project on
enhancing communication for people with dementia which
examined whether communication strategies taught to aged
care staff in the MESSAGE Communication Training Dementia
University of Queensland Program could support person-centred
communication between people with dementia and aged care
staff.
“The most enjoyable part of working on the project was adding
to the speech pathology evidence base, where project findings
suggest that the MESSAGE strategies do support person centred
communication behaviours in conversation,” said Tiarnee.
Caitlin Pywell’s honours presentation in Melbourne on
Occupational stress in Speech Pathologists studied the level
of self-reported occupational stress in Australian speech
pathologists and differences, examining a range of practice areas
in addition to age of clientele and location.
“This study is definitely an area for future research,” said Caitlin.
“It highlighted the importance of ensuring that, as professionals in
the field, we have adequate supervision and mentoring.”
Sydney student Taneal Norman presented on her honours project
titled The Evaluation of the Sounds, Words, Aboriginal language
and Yarning (SWAY) which explored the nature and development
of SWAY, a school-based oral language and early literacy program
based on Aboriginal stories, knowledge, and culture, and the
perceptions of teaching staff currently delivering SWAY across
four rural NSW schools.
“What is particularly special about this research is that it highlights
how Aboriginal perspectives can be embedded in the classroom
to create an inclusive learning environment that celebrates
culture,” said Taneal. “It is great that I can present findings that
support and encourage the ongoing provision of a program that
has both built the capacity of teaching staff and supported the
oral language and literacy development of students.”
By School of Allied Health, Faculty of Health Sciences,
Australian Catholic University
Initiatives showcased at student conference
Student Taneal Norman (centre) with Supervisors Associate Professor
Wendy Pearce (left) and Fiona Eastley.