SpeakOut_August2014_FINAL_eCopy

BRANCH news new south wales

Taking the leap into speech! Having come from previous careers in biochemistry and graphic design respectively, Eryka and I were curious as to what drove people to leap into speech pathology from other roles. Below are a range of insights from speech pathologists who had began their careers on a very different path.

David Kinnane Speech Pathologist, Banter Speech & Language For fifteen years, I was a finance and private equity lawyer, working in Sydney and Hong Kong. I loved my job, but it wasn’t something I wanted to do forever. As reading difficulties, and was interested in language and literacy. My younger son had a language delay, and seeing him thrive with the benefit of speech pathology inspired me to take the leap. Today I run a private practice in North Strathfield called Banter Speech & Language. I also manage a law firm, (Bodkin Wood Legal & Advisory) with my wife (who is a lawyer), that specialises in advising allied health professionals on legal issues associated with establishing and running their businesses. My communication, problem-solving and people- management skills, as well as my client and management experience, have been a big help in running my practice – although it did take me a while to stop talking like a lawyer! a volunteer, I’d enjoyed working with kids with

Evelyn Siow Speech Pathology Student, University of Sydney For six years, I worked as an audit manager at a “Big 4” accounting firm in Sydney. Getting promoted to manager and getting married in the same year prompted me to think about what I wanted to do in the next chapter of my life. I decided then that it would be a good time to pursue my interests – if not then, when? I had always been interested in health and was attracted to the mix of arts and science that speech pathology offered. I was also attracted to the variety of different contexts and people with whom we speech pathologists work – a far cry from performing financial statement audits twice a year, every year! While many of the professional skills from my previous career have been transferrable, I have found that my ability to work towards deadlines and plan and prioritise tasks have been most helpful.

Trish Nicoll Speech Pathologist, Cerebral Palsy Alliance For eleven years I was a primary school teacher, working in both Australia and the UK. I had a particular interest in early literacy and numeracy education. I always enjoyed having children with additional needs in my classroom, and loved the challenge of tailoring the curriculum and my teaching to meet the needs of children with different learning styles. My change in career was driven by a love for literacy and the desire to work more on a one-to-one basis with children as opposed to in a classroom setting. I feel that the skills from my previous career have contributed enormously to my current work. The literacy and language basis has been invaluable, and my knowledge of the school system (and classroom reality!) has given me credibility and understanding when providing suggestions to teachers. I’ve also found my ability to engage with parents and work with children of varying ages very useful.

Laura Blasdale Speech Pathology Student, Macquarie University I worked in public relations for four years as an account manager for a PR agency, working across a range of brands when I started to consider whether this was really where I wanted to end up. I'd always been fascinated with how children with a severe-profound hearing impairment could speak, when they couldn't hear, and I still am! When I realised that a ‘speechie’ was the person that helped to facilitate this process, I knew this is where I wanted to be. People commented on how big a change it was to move to speech pathology, but at the end of the day, it's all communication! PR requires exceptional ‘people skills’ – an innate ability to communicate with people at all levels. Both careers involve educating others, as well as advocacy and a natural willingness to see others benefit from what you have to offer. It's definitely been a significant career change but I'm excited to put these new skills into place as a full-time speechie! Jesica Rennie & Eryka Arteaga NSW Branch Co-Editors

Speak Out August 2014

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www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au