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22 Speak Out June 2013 Speech Pathology Australia
ISPENT A LITTLE over
a week volunteering at
a ‘healing home’ called
Charity Dream Shanghai
Healing Home. Orphans or
abandoned children with
cleft lip and palate (pre-
and post-surgery) receive
special care at this foster
home. In addition, the home
also raises money for their
operations.
Children with cleft lip and
palate are by default at high
risk of delayed speech and
language skills. Throw in
the fact that these kids are
in an orphanage, and their
starting point for speech and
language development is
even further behind. It wasn’t
surprising that despite the
fact that the home was such
a bright, happy place, with
nurturing nannies (“ayis”),
many, if not most of, the
children there had significantly
delayed language skills.
Three days a week, some
English-speaking volunteers
run a language program in
English using songs, rhymes,
books, and signs for the one
to two-year-old children. The
kids also get Mandarin input
with their ayis.
Together with my co-
volunteer and unofficial
mentor, Angela Gong, M.S.,
CCC-SLP, our main role
there was to further develop
the language program
spearheaded by some
volunteers. I also saw a few
children to conduct case
studies on their speech
and language abilities to
suggest goals and strategies.
Thankfully, I did some
preparation work prior to
China by attending a cleft
clinic at the Royal Children’s
Hospital (RCH) in Melbourne.
(Thanks, Andrea Verhoeven,
senior clinician at the RCH,
for graciously donating your
time to impart knowledge to
me to take to China!) I got a
good refresher on working
with this population.
By the end of my time there,
Angela and I had a working
document with specific goals
for the language program.
We also proposed including
a structured play-based
session. We modeled a few
sessions for the volunteers,
which meant we were up
there signing songs, rhyming,
signing, and having a lot of
fun with the kids! I also got
to work individually with two
kids, and prepared case
studies for the Director to
share with her team.
Because I speak Mandarin,
I was able to do some
incidental teaching of language
stimulation to the ayis and was
able to sing some Mandarin
rhymes and stories to include
them in the program.
Our time there was just a
small beginning of many
potential projects and
trainings at that home.
The experience in China was
amazing, challenging and
eye-opening. Speaking to
Angela, a Chinese-American
from New York who moved to
Shanghai to work, as well as a
Speech pathology work at
a ‘healing home’ in China
Education Support training Volunteering insights
SPA's fact sheets have assisted Education
Support students in understanding the
work of speech pathologists.
IN 2011, Speech Pathology in the Department
of Education (Learning Services North) were
approached to provide an information session for
Tasmanian Polytechnic Certificate III Education Support
students. The brief was to provide students with an
understanding of the role of a teacher’s aide working
with students who need intervention from, and/or
assistance of, a speech pathologist.
I was fortunate to get
the opportunity to
create and present
this information to
the students in 2011.
I presented again to
students in 2012 and
will be presenting
to the 2013 cohort
in the next month. The feedback from Polytechnic
students and staff has been overwhelmingly positive
and I understand that they see the session as a valuable
addition to the course.
My presentation each year starts with a basic
introduction of the work that speech pathologists do.
The Speech Pathology Australia website and fact sheets
have been very useful for this. We then discuss the role
of speech pathologists working in schools. A large part
of the session consists of information on how aides can
best support children with communication difficulties at
school (e.g. breaking down instructions, using visuals
to support information, allowing a child more time to
respond to questions).
Each year I am genuinely surprised by the number of
questions and level of enthusiasm from the students. It has
been a wonderful opportunity to promote our profession,
particularly in the school setting. Importantly, for our clients,
it has been a great chance to teach some basic strategies
for working with school students with communication
difficulties. It is hoped that our positive relationship with
the Education Support workers and students continues
to grow, to ensure a broader understanding of speech
pathology in education. Rachel Chivas
Department of Education (Learning Services North)
Support and training
for Education Support
students at the
Tasmanian Polytechnic
What isaSpeechPathologist?
Speechpathologists
study,diagnoseand treatcommunicationdisorders, includingdifficulties
with speech, language, swallowing,fluency and voice.
Theyworkwithpeoplewhohavedifficulty communicatingbecauseofdevelopmentaldelays,
stroke,brain injuries, learningdisability, intellectualdisability,cerebralpalsy,dementiaand
hearing loss,aswellasotherproblems that canaffect speechand language.
Peoplewho experiencedifficulties swallowing foodanddrink safelycanalsobehelpedby
a speechpathologist.
Using assessment tools, speech
pathologists are able todiagnoseeachperson’s specificproblem and
devise a treatmentplan thatbest
suits their needs.
Speechpathologists are specialists
whowork cross
their entire adult
might visit a speechpathologist to
help them understand and find the
rightwords to use after a stroke,while a childmight need treatment
to help their expressive language
(puttingwords together andbeing
understood)or receptive language
(understanding instructions and
meanings).Speechpathologists
alsoworkwithAugmentative and
AlternativeCommunication (AAC),devices that helppeoplewho
find itdifficult to speak orwrite to
communicatemore easily.This
can include ‘unaided systems’
like signing andgesturesor ‘aided
systems’ likepicture charts,books
and special computers ordevices.
What iscommunication?
Communication involves speaking,hearing, listening,understanding, social skills, reading,writing and
using voice.
What iscommunication impairment?
Peoplewhohavedifficulty communicatingmay requireassistancewith:
Speech:involves saying the sounds inwords so thatpeoplecanunderstandwhat is
being said.For example,a childwhodoesn’t saywords clearlyor an adultwho slurs their speech
after an accident.
Language:involves the exchangeof ideasusingwords,usually in spokenorwritten form.
For example, a childwhohas troubleunderstanding and following instructionsoran adultwho can’t
find the rightwords aftera stroke.
Literacy:involves reading,understandingwhat is read andcommunicating inwritten form.
SocialCommunication: ishowwe communicateand involves interpreting the
contextof a conversation,understandingnon-verbal information and the social rulesof
communication that areneeded todevelopa relationshipwith anotherperson.
Voice:using the vocalcordsor voicebox toproduce speech.For example,apersonwho frequently
loses their voiceor apersonwhohashad surgery for throatcancer.
Fluency:commonly knownas stuttering.Thisproblem isusually firstnoticedwhen a child starts
putting sentences togetherbut can continue into adulthood.
•Childrenwithautism,Down
Syndrome,andCerebralPalsy
oftenbegintheirlifewitha
communicationimpairment
•20%offouryearoldchildren
havedifficultyunderstandingor
usinglanguage
•14%of15yearoldshaveonly
basicliteracyskills
•28%ofteacherstaketimeoff
workeachyearbecauseof
voiceproblems
•Atleast30%ofpeoplepost-stroke
sufferlossoflanguage(aphasia)
•85%ofthosewithParkinson’s
diseasehavevoice,speechand/
orswallowingdifficulties
•13,000Australiansuse
electroniccommunicationaids
togettheirmessageacross
•Childrenwithalanguage
impairmentaresixtimesmore
likelytohaveareadingproblem
thanchildrenwithout
•46%ofyoungAustralianoffenders
havealanguageimpairment
•Thereisahighcorrelation
betweencommunication
difficultiesandpoormentalhealth
•Threeinevery1,000newborns
havehearingloss,whichwithout
interventioncanaffecttheir
speech,languageandliteracy.
Indigenouschildrenhavethree
timesmorehearingproblems
thannon-Indigenouschildren
Communication impairment ismorecommon than you think...
Communication impairment
inAustralia
Language is fundamental
to yourbaby’sdevelopment.Everybaby learns to speakby listening,playingwith sounds and talking toothers.
Babiesbegin to learn from themoment theyareborn –first receptive language skills
(understandingwhat theyhear), then expressive language skills (speaking).
You canhelpdevelopboth kindsof language skillsby talking,watching, listening,playing and
sharingbookswith yourbaby.
Talking
•Talktoyourbabyoften,speaking
slowly,clearlyandsimply
• Emphasisewordsfortheobjects
mostcommonlyusedinyour
baby’sworld
•Useavarietyofwordstodescribe
whatishappeningaroundyou,not
justthenamesofthings •Repeatwords–yourbabywill
begintounderstandthemeaning
ofthemiftheyhearthemoften
•Imitatethesoundsyourbaby
makesorsaythewordthey
maybetryingtouse
•Commentonthesoundsyou
heartodrawyourbaby’sattention
tothesound
•
Taketurnswhenyoutalkand
play,pausingtolistenandspeak
justlikeyouwouldinanadult
conversation
Playing
•Babieslearnabouttalkingand
listeningthroughplay,soit’s
importanttosetasidetimetoplay
withyourbabyeachday
•Createopportunitiesforyourbaby
toplaywithotherchildrenby
joiningaplaygrouportoylibrary,
orspendingtimewithpeople
whoalsohaveyoungchildren
•Watchyourbabyandcopytheir
actionsandsounds.Showthem
newactionsandactivities
•Choosegamesandtoys
appropriatetoyourbaby’sage
thatencourageexploration,
problemsolvingandinteraction
betweenyouandyourbaby.
•Fingergames,softdollsand
stuffedtoys,balls,blocksand
activityboardsallhelptodevelop
yourbaby’sfingersandhands,
aswellaslisteningandlearning
skills
•Buildarepertoireofsongsand
rhymes.Singingthesamewords
overandoveragainwillhelpyour
babylearnlanguageandrhythm
Sharebooks
Earlyreadingpromotesgood
languageandthinkingskills,preparing
childrenforlearningtoreadandwrite.
•Readtoandwithyourbabyfrom
birth–makebookspartofyour
dailyroutine
•Choosebookswithlarge,bright
pictures.Babieslovepicturesof
otherbabiesandphotosoftheir
family
•Pointtoandnameobjects,animals
orpeople–eventuallyyourbaby
willrespond
Helping yourbaby to talk