ACQ Vol 11 no 2 2009

www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

ACQ

Volume 11, Number 2 2009

Literacy

“Literacy unlocks the door to learning throughout

life, is essential to development and health, and opens the way for

democratic participation and active citizenship” (Kofi Annan). Dr Seuss

puts it in a simpler way: “The more you read, the more things you will

know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go” (Dr Seuss,

Can Read With My Eyes Shut!

We have been overwhelmed by the level of interest following our call

for submissions to this Literacy issue of

ACQ

. The result has been a

wide range of literacy-related articles from both academic and clinical

perspectives. It reflects a clear shift in our scope of practice as speech-

language pathologists to include literacy assessment and intervention for

children, adolescents, and adults.

Walsh begins this edition by defining literacy, which includes an

interesting historical perspective, with the aim to assist speech-language

pathologists in promoting their role in literacy. The issue then presents

more peer-reviewed articles. Examples include a best practice review by

Gillon and McNeill related to phonological awareness assessment and

intervention, an overview by Clendon and Erickson on effective literacy

instruction for individuals with complex communication needs, and

insights into dyslexia in secondary school students by Marinac.

In this edition, you will also find several Clinical Insights papers to

inform you of clinical initiatives related to literacy across the country,

including an example of collaborative service provision in Victoria. We

strongly recommend the Ethical Reflections paper, in which Leitão

and her colleagues raise some very topical issues linking clinical report

writing to our Code of Practice. Finally, the edition contains our regular

columns. The Research Updates column reports on some exciting new

literacy-related initiatives in Australia, and Caroline Bowen navigates us

in cyberspace with her highly informative and entertaining 34th edition

(marking the 10th anniversary!) of Webwords.

In concluding, we would like to bring to your attention the upcoming

topics in

ACQ

, including mental health, motor speech disorders, and

working with families. Please note that articles on other topics are

always welcome. We encourage peer-appraisal for all research-related

papers, including literature reviews and discussion papers, and are

currently considering the stipulated word limits.

ACQ

uses a double-blind

peer-review process that will help ensure high quality evidence-based

publications. We look forward to your continued contributions and

welcome your feedback and suggestions regarding the content, focus, or

format of the journal.

From the editors

Literacy unlocks the door to learning

Marleen Westerveld and Nicole Watts Pappas

From the Editors:

Literacy unlocks the door to learning

From the President:

Literacy notes

The big picture of literacy

–

Regina Walsh

Phonological awareness:

Effective practices in assess-

ment and intervention –

Gail Gillon and Brigid McNeill

Literacy instruction for individuals with complex

communication needs

–

Sally Clendon and

Karen Erickson

Measuring reading comprehension ability in children:

Factors influencing test performance –

Marleen Westerveld

Dyslexia in secondary school students:

Evidence from

the literature –

Julie Marinac

Ethical reflections:

Readability of written speech pathology

reports –

Suze Leitão, Nerina Scarinci and Cheryl Koenig

Mealtime behaviours in people with dementia in the

absence of dysphagia:

Education of nursing staff in an

acute care setting –

Crystal Ensell and

Natasha Matheson

Clinical insights:

Oral Language Basic Concepts

Program: An example of collaborative service

provision in Victoria –

Ed Gillian and Sue Williamson

100

Literacy for Life Unit:

An activity update –

Carolyn Burrows and Julie Marinac

103

Raising awareness of the importance of functional

literacy skills:

The Communication Resource Centre

– Scope –

Cathy Basterfield

106

Let’s Read:

A universal intervention to promote literacy in

very young children –

Sharon Goldfeld, Natasha Napiza,

Jon Quach, Carly Veness, Sheena Reilly,

Obioha C Ukoumunne, and Melissa Wake

109

Speech and language therapy in Bangladesh

–

Jannatul Ferdous and Cristy Gaskill

112

Webwords 34:

Literacy difficulties across the rooftops

–

Caroline Bowen

114

My top 10 resources:

Paediatric Literacy –

Melinda Schambre

116

My top 10 resources:

Adult Literacy –

Karen Smith-Lock

118

Research updates

Literacy skills of children born preterm: University of

Queensland Centre for Clinical Research –

Alison Holm

and Sharon Crosbie

119

New Castles and Coltheart reading test available online:

Macquarie Centre for Cognitive Science –

Anne Castles,

Genevieve McArthur and Max Coltheart

120

Understanding and treating developmental literacy

impairments using a cognitive neuropsychological

approach: Macquarie Centre for Cognitive Science

–

Lyndsey Nickels, Saskia Kohnen, and

Karen Smith-Lock

122

Resource reviews:

Speech pathology resources

125

Around the journals

128

Outside the square:

Into allied health

Contents

Marleen Westerveld (left) and Nicole Watts Pappas