Speak Out draft text june 2016

Association news

New SPA website launched

On Friday 6 May the new Speech Pathology Australia website went “live”. The Association’s redeveloped website has a new look and feel and cleaner lines to make the whole experience of visiting the site more enjoyable. The menus have been reordered and the content reorganised to make the structure of information on the site easier to find and access. A feature of the revised site is that it is mobile friendly, meaning the site can be viewed on smartphones and tablet devices. The website is now seamlessly integrated with the Association’s membership and events databases, making it easier for members to renew and book events. In addition, the website has a new exciting Jobs Board to make it easier to advertise or secure a new job. All the content migrated from the old site has been updated and all the attachments reformatted to reflect the Association’s new address and Brand Guide. www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

Swallowing Awareness Day

Wednesday May 11 2016

awareness day PEOPLE SWALLOW 9 TIMESPERDAY (ONAVERAGE) 26 muscles Swallowinguses

A swallowingdisordermayaffect:

More than 1 million Australians havedifficulty swallowing

15-30% ofpeopleaged65+ living in thecommunity

50%

ofolderadults innursing homes

84% ofpeoplewithParkinson’s disease 100% ofpeoplewithAlzheimer’s, at somepoint in theirdisease progression

dysphagia

around3 times

anhourduring sleep,

20%

ofadultswithmentalhealth disorders

One in 17peoplewilldevelop some formofdysphagia in their lifetime.

45%

ofpatientswithheadand neckcancer,post chemoradiotherapy

Humans swallow:

Onceperminute whileawake,

Dysphagia (dis-fay-juh) noun,difficultyor discomfort in swallowing.

40% of stroke survivorshavean ongoingneed for support for swallowing 25% ofpatientswithMultiple Sclerosishave swallowing difficulties-increasing toas manyas 65% of thosewith severeMultiple Sclerosis.

andevenmoreduring meals!

Thank you to everyone who participated actively in the campaign to promote Swallowing Awareness Day. There was a tremendous amount of activity in the lead up and on the day itself. There was considerable interest from the media on the day, with Speech Pathology Australia National President, Gaenor Dixon, doing around half-a-dozen radio interviews. She was ably supported by a number of other Association members who, using the template media release were able to interest their own local media. Congratulations to Michelle Cimoli who spoke with Red Symons on Melbourne ABC Radio and Anne Huang who secured time with ABC Radio in Cairns. The Swallowing Awareness Day Campaign Kit was

well used and there was lots of evidence that Dizzy, our mascot for the day, was busy promoting the campaign. Social media ran hot with #900swallows and #dysphagia highlighting the involvement of speech pathologists everywhere. Our social media campaign received a strong following on Twitter, with a good showing on both Facebook and Instagram. According to Symplur Healthcare Hashtags the #900swallows tag had over 1.2 million impressions in Twitter with over 200 tweeters supporting the event. At its peak in the late afternoon of 11 May (Swallowing Awareness Day) the #900swallows tag was trending in Australia.

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June 2016 www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

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