Speak Out OCTOBER 2019 V3 DIGITAL EDITION

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Publications The International Journal of Speech Language Pathology transitioned in 2008 from the previously titled Advances in Speech Language Pathology , and has continued to strengthen its international profile and academic status as a leading journal in the area of human communication sciences. Notably, there have been a range of excellent special issue editions, including: Scientific Forum: World Report on Disability and people with communication disability (Vol 15; No 1; Feb 2013), and Communication is a human right: Celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Vol 20; No. 1; Feb 2018). In 2012, the clinical journal, ACQuiring Knowledge in Speech , Language and Hearing (ACQ), successfully transitioned to the Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology (JCPSLP), and continues to produce a range of excellent issues within topical clinical and practice themes. Released in November 2017 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the document Australians Living with Communication Disability followed a prolonged advocacy effort by the Association to convince the ABS of the value and need for strong data in regard to the needs of those with communication disability. The publication’s release also confirmed the Association’s estimate that 1.2 million Australians have a communication disability. With research highlighting more than 46 per cent of youth offenders having a “language impairment” the Association supported the ground- breaking Speech Pathology in Youth (Justice) Custodial Education (SPyce) Project. Collaborating with a group of experts, and working closely with Parkville College, the Association funded a project office to assist with gathering the information and resources needed to support this project. This work was formally launched in August 2013 as Back on track: Speech Pathology in Youth (Justice) – Custodial Education (SPyce) Project Report. Two other notable resources 1995

is achieving increasing government and employer recognition. Speech Pathology Australia now has full membership of NASRHP, an acknowledgement that its self-regulation processes meet the high standards of registration boards. Membership of NASRHP now provides an assurance to consumers that they are receiving a quality service from certified practitioners. In the case of the speech pathology profession, this means being able to meet the requirements of being a certified practising speech pathologist (CPSP). While the Association was advocating for national registration, in early 2013, the Association conducted a poll amongst Queensland members to ascertain support for the continued registration of the profession in that state. The poll highlighted overwhelming support amongst members for the continuation of the registration regime in Queensland. But, despite a submission from the Association in support of continued registration in the state, legislation subsequently passed through the Queensland parliament, bringing registration of speech pathologists to an end in Queensland from May 2013. The dissolution of the Registration Board in Queensland left a substantial amount of funds in trust from registration fees paid by speech pathologists. Over the period of transition to dissolve the Registration Board, the Queensland government expressed a strong desire for these funds to be managed and utilised in the interests of the Queensland speech pathology profession. Following negotiations with Queensland Health, the Association was tasked with managing these funds, including making available the Queensland Registration Board Legacy Funds for speech pathologists in Queensland across a range of grant programs. Awareness Speech Pathology Week and the Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year awards have been constants over the last 10 years. In fact, the Association’s Book of the Year award is now in its sixteenth year and would not be possible without the efforts of numerous member volunteers to shortlist and judge the nominated books. In 2018 more than 200 books were nominated for the awards’ five categories. A new public awareness campaign was launched in 2016 with the introduction of the Association’s inaugural Swallowing Awareness Day, with the theme: ‘Everyone’s doing it... but no one’s talking about it’. The aim of the new day was to alert Australians to dysphagia, with most having no idea that speech pathologists are the professionals who assess and treat swallowing disorders. Swallowing was also at the forefront when the Association took an active role in the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI). Commencing discussion in 2016, as part of a working party that included the Dietitians Association of Australia, the Association worked to ensure that the Australian Standardised Terminology and Definitions for Textured Modified Foods and Fluids (2007) was consistent with the new internationally endorsed IDDSI framework. The new IDDSI framework for labelling and testing modified texture food and fluids was adopted in Australia from 1 May 2019.

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produced by the Association in the past 10 years, include the Speech Pathology in Schools Resource and the Communication Milestone Poster Resource. Launched in October 2017, the Speech Pathology in Schools Resource is a resource for speech pathologists who work or wish to work in schools. The resource is designed to inform a speech pathologist’s practice and to assist with professional development and advocacy opportunities. The

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resource evolved out of a project commissioned by the NSW Department of Education in January 2017 to develop materials for principals, teachers and parents.

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October 2019 www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

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