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Speak Out October 2015 5
Sharynne’s research found that students with speech and
language problems achieve significantly lower scores on every
NAPLAN test including reading, writing, spelling, grammar and
numeracy at every year level of testing than students without
these problems. These students never ‘catch up’ to their
peers, they are more likely to be excluded from NAPLAN in
the first place, and they are likely to have never been seen by
a speech pathologist.
This research is a sobering reflection on how poorly our
educational systems are supporting these students.
Communication is a basic human right. It is essential for
social inclusion and for participation in all aspects of life –
not the least of which is education. Communication
disability is poorly understood by the community and rarely
addressed in public policy, and even less so in education
policy. A year ago, the Senate Community Affairs References
Committee concluded an inquiry into communication
disorders and speech pathology and made bipartisan
recommendations – we hope a government response will be
received soon.
We also hope that our time with you today can shed
some light on the specifics about what we think the
governments of Australia can do to improve education
outcomes for students with communication and swallowing
disability. We hope that this Committee can recognise the
need to improve consistency of access to speech pathology
services for students across the country – regardless of
which state or sector they are being educated within.
This inquiry offers a significant opportunity for the Australian
government to demonstrate leadership in improving access
and outcomes for students with disability – through leading
national work on developing educational and support
resources for schools and principals and on improving the
use and effectiveness of Individual Learning Plans for these
students. We would welcome further conversations with
you on the specifics of our recommendations.
Research conducted
by Charles Sturt University
researchers, Professors
Sharynne McLeod, Linda
Harrison and Dr Cen Wang,
from the Research Institute
for Professional Practice,
Learning and Education at
Charles Sturt University, with
funding support from Speech Pathology Australia has
for the first time, demonstrated the poorer educational
outcomes of students with speech and language
problems in Australia. The research examined
NAPLAN results at years 3, 5, and 7 for 4,332
children who had speech and language problems
when they began school. Children were drawn for
the study from the Longitudinal Study of Australian
Children – a representative sample of 10,000 children
commissioned by the Australian Government to
examine the lives of Australian children.
The research factored in any influence of gender,
socioeconomic position of the family, language
background other than English, Indigenous status, if
the child had hearing problems and if the child was
identified as having a disability (disability expected to
last more than six months). The research found:
• Students with speech and language problems
were more likely to be excluded from NAPLAN
testing than students without these problems.
• Children with speech and language problems
achieved significantly lower scores on every
NAPLAN test (reading, writing, spelling, grammar
and numeracy) at years 3, 5 and 7 compared to
students without these problems.
• Students who had both expressive and receptive
language problems had the poorest NAPLAN
outcomes.
• Poorer outcomes for children with speech and
language problems were observed in each of the
states and territories – with little evidence that the
‘gap’ in outcomes was reduced over time.
• Most students with speech and language
problems had not seen a speech pathologist.
Demonstrating NAPLAN
outcomes for students
with communication
impairment
From left: Ronelle Hutchinson, Senator Sue Lines (Chair of Committee), Gaenor
Dixon and Sharynne McLeod at the hearing.