4 Speak Out
June 2014
Speech Pathology Australia
Speech Pathology Australia's key messages
for the Senate Inquiry Hearings
association news
Deborah Theodoros:
Thank you for inviting us to appear
before you today, and thank you, Tim, for
introducing us. I would like to introduce
Gail Mulcair, the CEO of Speech
Pathology Australia, Gaenor Dixon, Vice
President – Communications, Robyn
Stephen, Vice President – Operations,
and Associate Professor Cori Williams,
National Advisor Evidence-based
Practice and Research for SPA.
We think it is vital for you to see how
very real communication problems are
for people like Tim and how important
it is that this inquiry focuses on the
concrete things that can be done to
improve the lives of Australians like Tim.
Today I will focus on the ‘big picture’
of this silent disability and present four
key opportunities for government to
improve the lives of Australians with
communication disorders.
Firstly, we estimate that there are
over 1.1 million Australians with a
communication disorder. This is
comparable with the number of people
with diabetes and three times the
number of those with dementia. Both
of these conditions are national health
priorities and attract significant attention
and resourcing. Communication
disorders, however, are largely invisible.
The impacts of communication disorders
are far reaching and debilitating,
resulting in poor educational outcomes,
reduced employment opportunities
and an increased likelihood of social,
emotional and mental health issues.
Communication is a basic human right.
It is essential for social inclusion and for
participation in all aspects of life. There is
an opportunity to raise awareness about
communication disorders, as these are
poorly understood by the community
and rarely addressed by public policy.
Many children and adults with
communication disorders also have
associated difficulties with swallowing.
It is not uncommon for children with
cerebral palsy, and adults who have had
a stroke to have difficulty eating and
drinking safely. Speech pathologists
have expertise in the diagnosis and
management of swallowing disorders.
Government leadership is essential
in raising awareness and making
policy inclusive of people with both
communication and swallowing
disorders.
The second opportunity is to ensure
that problems are picked up early.
Early identification is not just about
recognising language problems in
small children but it is also about early
identification of communication and
swallowing problems associated with
other conditions such as Parkinson’s
Disease or stroke. There is very good
evidence that the earlier problems are
identified, and treatment initiated, the
better the outcomes.
The third opportunity is to improve
access to speech pathology services.
There is no delicate way to say it – there
are just not enough publicly funded
speech pathology positions. We do have
an established private speech pathology
sector but this should not be the only
option for the Australian people – and
most of the time it is. For those who
can’t pay for private services – they
go without or languish on long public
waiting lists to find that by the time their
name comes up, their condition has
worsened, or their child no longer meets
the age eligibility.
Access to speech pathology services
is a postcode lottery in Australia – it is
almost impossible to access adequate
services if you live in rural or remote
Australia or if you are socio-economically
disadvantaged.
The current system of funding for
speech pathology services in the
government sector does not allow
for evidence-based practice to be
implemented. Services are rationed
leading to care being reduced to a
small fixed number of sessions. Often,
the number of sessions, frequency
and type of care is not based on what
the evidence says ‘works’. Would you
wonder why your chest infection hasn’t
cleared up if you were only given ‘half
your antibiotic’? There seems to be
a presumption that a ‘bit’ of speech
pathology is better than none – but
the evidence is clear that for many
conditions there is a minimum amount
of intervention necessary for improved
outcomes.
While we most often think of speech
pathology services as one-to-one
treatment, speech pathologists do much
more than work with individuals – we
train and support parents and family
members to facilitate communication
with their loved ones, we work with
teachers, and we work with nursing
homes and group homes for young
people. When I talk about access, it
is not just about access to individual
treatment, it is about access to
speech pathology expertise by other
professionals to enhance the way they
work with people with communication
and swallowing disorders.
On Wednesday 11 June
, representatives of Speech Pathology Australia appeared before the Senate Community Affairs
Reference Committee in Melbourne for the inquiry into the
Prevalence of different types of speech, language and communication
disorders and speech pathology services in Australia
. Following is the opening statement made by SPA President, Professor
Deborah Theodoros, to the Senators. Representatives of SPA were introduced by Tim Adam, a former lawyer who suffered a
stroke in 2010 and now experiences aphasia.
