Speak Out April 2016 low res

3 / 40

Speak Out April 2016 3
From the President
I am writing this article from the
airport in Adelaide, having just presented
to the South Australian Legislative
Council Select Committee on Access to
the South Australian Education System
for Students with Disabilities with Tim
Kittel and Gail Mulcair. It was a great
opportunity to promote the role of
language competence and access to
safe eating to ensure that all students
can access and participate in education.
Congratulations to the South Australian
team who gathered information for the
submission and to Ronelle who put it all
together to form a coherent narrative.
Worth my pre-dawn get-up and dawn
flight!
This month I have also travelled to Perth,
together with Gail Mulcair to attend the
Western Australian branch Consumer
Forum for parents of children with
speech and language needs. The forum
was a great opportunity to hear what
parents are wanting, and the voice that
they would like to have in advocating for
their children’s needs. Congratulations to
Jodi Lipscombe, Shelley Vivian, Brooke
Sanderson and the WA Branch team for
this event.
Travelling for the Association has
given me a great opportunity to talk
with members across the country. I
have loved hearing about the work
that is happening across Australia, the
innovative solutions to problems and the
perspectives on the future that are being
stimulated by the Speech Pathology
2030 project. It is a great honour to have
the opportunity to learn so much from
my colleagues.
Still in WA, the conference team is
ramping up those 'waves' ready for May.
Bring your (virtual or real) surfboards.
Don’t forget that the Early Bird rates
finish on 13 April so sign up soon
to get a great rate, for a world class
conference with fabulous speakers, just
as fabulous networking and a chance
to keep up with the latest resources
through our trade display. And, don’t
forget the opportunity to celebrate the
achievements of your colleagues with our
awards ceremony at the AGM.
In March, Suze Leitao represented the
Association at an Early Literacy Summit
in Canberra. The summit was the start
of a conversation, but thanks to Suze for
representing us so ably, and for clearly
iterating the fundamental importance of
speech and language competence for
literacy (and numeracy) development.
April is the month for Speech Pathology
2030 Imagining Possible Futures
workshop. These workshops pick up
and expand on the themes that came
out of the Conversations about the
future. More information about the
workshops is in this edition of Speak Out
and on the SPA website home page.
The final workshop for the SP 2030
project will be held at the conference–
another great reason to attend! I look
forward to hearing the outcomes of the
workshops.
Meanwhile the Association is continuing
to investigate credentialing for advanced
and extended scope of practice; having
early discussions with some Chief Allied
Health Officers looking at frameworks
and possible directions. We are meeting
with the Australian Institute for Teaching
and School Leadership to investigate
ways that we can further quality teaching
as it intersects with speech language
communication needs. We have
also been investigating a Continuing
Professional Development Framework,
one that will meet member needs in the
21st century. Thanks to Kate Bridgman,
Lucie Shanahan, Brooke Sanderson and
the NO team (particularly Sharon Crane)
for your continuing work with this.
I look forward to meeting you next month
in Perth and talking more about all the
initiatives that your Association is working
on. Until next month–go well!
Gaenor Dixon
President