24 Speak Out
October 2014
Speech Pathology Australia
Brains, lips
,
and teeth
.
All bundled into plastic bags, stapled
together, and lovingly branded with the
ICP2014 message; ready for hungry
students to devour. Yes, this is how
the Speech Pathology Association of
La Trobe University kicked off Speech
Pathology Week 2014 – with lollies
based on the practice areas that we
look forward to working in. But imagine
if you couldn’t tuck into those delicious
treats? This certainly got people talking,
as they bit into their gummy brains.
Mid-week, our ‘Communication
Problems in Pop Culture’ screening
invited students to relax and unwind
in between classes by watching some
of the ways in which communication
problems are wrongly depicted by the
media. Episodes of
Boston Legal
and
ER
were screened as students discussed
how pop culture representations measure
up to the realities faced by those with
communication disorders. The event
included a clip of the inspiring TEDxTalk
by singer Megan Washington; she
discusses the stutter she has had since
childhood, and the strategies she needs
to employ in order to communicate
effectively as a public figure.
The end of the week brought a chance to
interact with students, staff and university
visitors more publicly with a barbecue
in the main hub of La Trobe University,
the Agora. Speech pathology students
took the opportunity to talk with people
about communication and swallowing
disorders, and how they may feel if either
of these abilities were compromised.
Motor Neurone Disease (MND) seemed
to be a subject that regularly came up
with visitors to our stall. With the myriad
of ALS ‘Ice Bucket Challenges’ circling
the web, little was known about the role
of a speech pathologist in helping those
with ALS lead a more comfortable life.
The reactions from people were strong
and personal, as we discussed how
it would feel to not be able to eat their
favourite foods, or communicate with
those around them.
The Australian
Nation for
Communication
ICP2014 campaign
resonates deeply with our students,
many of whom have a passion for
advocating the importance of the
profession. It was an absolute joy to
promote awareness of communication
disorders to our peers and wider
student community. And if it means
devouring brains, lips and teeth, we
can’t wait for next year!
Roz Shand
&
Lillian Krikheli
are currently in their third year
of study at La Trobe University.
BRANCH news
Victoria
Operation Smile
La Trobe University
is a newly founded not-for-
profit organisation run entirely
by first to fourth-year speech
pathology students.
Our organisation aims to
increase the profile on
campus of cleft palate and
other facial deformities
in developing countries.
Although our organisation is
new, we have already raised
awareness and funds for
Operation Smile Australia
through various fundraisers.
We are in the planning stages
of organising educational
events to inform our peers
about global health and the
impact we can make as
speech pathologists.
Operation Smile La Trobe
began as a sub-branch of
Operation Smile Monash
(part of the Ignite Health
Monash group) and plans to
have events in coordination
with them in subsequent
years. We are currently in the
process of collecting wool
and knitting square patches
to sew together small quilts
to give to children receiving
surgery around the world.
We are looking for
ways to involve speech
pathologists and other
health processionals into our
exciting, fresh organisation.
If you would like to know
more, please contact
(Olivia) or visit and
‘like’ us at
All the happenings around La Trobe during SPWeek 2014
Introducing Operation Smile La Trobe!
Speech pathology
students promoted
the aims of the Nation
for Communication
campaign in a number
of creative ways during
SPWeek 2014.
