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6 Speak Out April 2016 Speech Pathology Australia
association news
Speech Pathology Australia CEO Gail Mulcair recently met with
Jeremy Raquel a Speech Pathologist from the Philippines. Jeremy visited
National Office as part of the Rotary Foundation–Vocation Area of Focus
program. Jeremy was keen to learn about the profession in Australia and
spoke with Gail about the Philippine Association of speech pathologists
(PASP)–the aim of which is to ensure that Speech Pathologists practising in
the Philippines are qualified, equipped with proper training and knowledge to
provide quality service to their clients.
Knowledge exchange
On March 7 Sandy
Fowler joined the SPA
National Office as a
policy officer. Originally
from the UK Sandy
holds an MSc in Health
Policy, Planning and
Financing and has
worked as a policy
adviser, health services researcher and
health advocate in the UK, Australia, New
Zealand, South Africa and India. Her most
recent role was at the Royal College of
Nursing in London which represents over
420,000 nursing staff/student members.
Sandy loves to travel, enjoys good food
and is currently attempting to write a
screenplay - she is looking forward to
settling into her new role and new city.
Spa welcomes
Sandy Fowler
Speech Pathology Australia
Chief Executive Officer
Gail Mulcair with Speech
Pathologist Jeremy Raquel
from the Philippines.
Like breathing, swallowing is a reflex and essential to everyday life.
Humans swallow at least 900 times a day: around three times an hour
during sleep, once per minute while awake and even more often during
meals.
Swallowing; everyone is doing it but no one is talking about it. It’s why
Speech Pathology Australia in 2016 will host the inaugural Swallowing
Awareness Day on Wednesday 11 May.
People who have trouble swallowing are at risk of poor nutrition
and dehydration, while babies and children may not take in enough
nutrients to support growth and brain development.
Did you know that one million Australians have a swallowing difficulty?
For people with dysphagia consuming food and drink is problematic.
It can lead to life threatening medical problems such as pneumonia,
choking, poor nutrition and dehydration if not managed properly.
Swallowing problems can occur at any stage of life. However,
knowledge of dysphagia and its implications remain largely unknown
for most Australians. For this reason, the Association and its Board
felt a designated day to promote the effects and management of
dysphagia was warranted.
Swallowing Awareness Day 2016 is an opportunity to bring attention
to swallowing disorders and to connect people with the professionals
who can help.
Swallowing Awareness Day 2016 needs your help.
1. Engage on social media by using #dysphagia and by including
@SpeechPathAus in your Twitter and Instagram posts.
2. Download the free A4 information posters and materials from the
SPA website and display them around your workplace.
Help make this Swallowing Awareness Day 2016 a very successful
initiative to promote swallowing awareness within Australia.
Swallowing Awareness Day 2016
All is in readiness for the
inaugural Australian Swallowing
Awareness Day, Wednesday 11 May
2016. The only thing missing is a name
for our pelican mascot!
Send in your suggestions (meeting the
criteria below) to National Office.
Naming competition criteria:
• open to SPA members only
• name must be relevant to Swallowing
Awareness Day
• one word in length
• something easy to spell, read and pronounce.
By participating in this competition you’ll
automatically enter the draw to win free access to a
CPDLive event.
Please submit your suggestions before COB April
15 to National Office via email on marketing@
Name our
mascot