Speak Out
August 2014
17
If I told you
I could convince
80 children to participate in an art
and craft activity in total silence you
would probably think I was crazy.
Yet, on the 9th of July 2014, together
with my colleagues and some fantastic
volunteers, we did just that. The reason?
To raise much needed awareness
about communication difficulties to
the people in our community.
HUSH!
was a community event
hosted by Western Sydney Speech
Pathology in front of Max Webber
Library in Blacktown as a part of the
Nation for Communication
campaign.
At this event, children and their parents
were invited to participate in creating a
group artwork. The catch? They had
to ask for the art supplies they needed
using only non-verbal means of
communication. These children (and
their parents) experienced firsthand
what it was like to have a communication
difficulty.
“I think the parents found it more
difficult”, my colleague Georgina told
me. “I had to keep shushing them.”
These observations are a testimony to
how heavily we rely on verbal language
as a means to communicate as we
grow older.
While the primary aim of HUSH!
was to help raise awareness about
communication disorders throughout
our community, one of the most
surprising outcomes in preparing for
and executing this event was how much
we learned about the community in
which we work.
During HUSH!, one of our volunteers
was appointed with the task of
asking people to sign the Nation for
Communication Pledge. She found
that many of the people who signed
the pledge often wanted to explain why
they believed communication to be a
human right. Many of them told her of
relatives and friends who struggle with a
communication disorder.
We also had many parents express
their curiosity about speech therapy.
While their children created an artwork,
parents took the opportunity to talk
to us about their concerns regarding
their child’s communication. They were
thankful to be given information about
our profession. Two fathers who worked
in nearby offices even took a handful of
information brochures to distribute in
their workplace!
Our event drew interest from local
businesses including the main shopping
center in Blacktown, Westpoint. They
supported us by offering us free
advertising spaces and sending a
member of their management team
to attend the event. Councilor Charlie
Lowles, and a member of the Blacktown
Rotary Club (Tess Sayas) were also
present at the event.
Blacktown City Libraries expressed their
support by arranging for the artwork to
be toured in the council’s three major
libraries (Dennis Johnson Library, in
Stanhope Gardens, Mt Druitt Library and
Max Webber Library in Blacktown). The
artwork will be accompanied by a display
containing information about speech
pathology. Our local paper, the
Blacktown
Advocate
, ran an article about our event
before it was staged and are extending
the reach of our campaign by informing
people about the tour of the artwork.
Overall, our community’s response
to communication disorders was that
of interest and curiosity. Blacktown is
ready and willing to know more about
speech pathology!
For more pictures and information about
the event please visit our Facebook
page:
Celine Lowe Pascual
Speech-Language Pathologist
Western Sydney Speech Pathology
makes some noise for people
with communication disorders
(Figuratively, speaking that is.)
During SPWeek 2014, we want you to think creatively! To provide inspiration for any
activities and/or events you might like to organise to celebrate SPWeek, below we share a story
about the community event
HUSH!
which was hosted by Western Sydney Speech Pathology in
Blacktown NSW, to promote the aims of the
Nation for Communication
campaign.
Speech
pathologists
Julie Carey,
Georgina Bong
and Celine Pascual
and their team of
volunteers with
the final artwork.
The artwork was
created by 80
children from
the Blacktown
area using only
non-verbal
communication.
