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4 Speak Out April 2016 Speech Pathology Australia
speech pathology 2030
Perspectives from beyond
the profession
• Listen to me, respect my choices, learn from my
insights
• Find flexible ways of working
• Keep things fun, meaningful and functional
• Your relationship with me is critical
• I need hope and reality
• Recognise all of me
• Respect my culture, life, experiences and
responsibilities
• Provide me with integrated services
• Remember the psychological and social side of things
• All professionals should stop protecting their turf.
• Help us connect with others who have walked the
same path
• I need accessible services
• Make sure the public and other professionals know the
effects of communication impairments and about
speech pathology
• Use consistent pathways and make sure everyone
has the information to get what they need
• Help us connect – that’s what is important.
To access the Listening to Clients handout go to the
clients told us:
A fundamental feature of the design of the Speech
Pathology 2030 project was to seek the perspectives of people
other than speech pathologists about the future of speech
pathology in Australia.
Listening to clients
One group it was essential to engage was clients. We were
particularly keen to ensure we connected with clients who
represented the diverse range of clients speech pathologists
work with. A call out to speech pathologists to help us engage
with clients was met with great enthusiasm and helped us
achieve this goal. The 20 clients we interviewed and the six
we received emails from included parents of children and
adolescents, adults of working age, and older people. Across
the group were males and females; people from metropolitan,
regional and rural areas; people from Indigenous backgrounds;
and people with varying communication needs with diverse
aetiologies and who accessed services from public, private and
not-for-profit services.
The clients were extremely positive about the opportunity to
contribute to Speech Pathology 2030. From our perspective,
it was a humbling experience and an incredible privilege to
ensure their generous and insightful perspectives were heard
and included in the work. Following are some of what clients
have told us is important. When these things are achieved,
clients sing the praises of what speech pathology and
other services offer. When they are not, client stories reflect
frustration and dissatisfaction and outcomes that are less than
they believe are possible. These perspectives reflect speech
pathology within a broader system, but each client’s story
reinforced the importance of everyone’s role to make sure the
whole system is the best it can be.
Listening to thought leaders
Important perspectives about the future of speech
pathology were also gained by interviewing 20 thought
leaders from outside the profession. These individuals
have included consumer advocates, leaders from peak
professional associations, academics and researchers,
politicians and journalists. The information obtained will
inform the next stage of the Speech Pathology 2030
project Imagining possible futures. See the next page as
to how you can be involved in this stage by attending an
Imaging possible futures workshop or teleconference.
Gretchen Young
Speech Pathology 2030 Project Manager