Nation for Communication is the Theme for Speech Pathology Week

 Speech Pathology Australia is highlighting the plight of more than 1.1 million Australians who have a communication or swallowing disorder that impacts on their quality of life, during Speech Pathology Week (24 - 30 August).

Every Australian community – suburb or town – has its share of Australians who every day confront the challenges of having a communication or swallowing disorder and the Speech Pathology Week theme ‘Nation for Communication’ will promote the issue.
This year’s Speech Pathology Week comes on the eve of a major Senate Committee report into ‘speech, language and communication disorders, and speech pathology services in Australia’.
The Community Affairs Senate Committee is due to deliver its report on 1 September 2014.
Speech Pathology Australia is looking for action on a number of important issues that impact on Australian families and their access to speech pathology services.

• One in five children who start school have difficulty understanding or using language. At present there are simply not enough speech pathology services in our public health system. Without intervention these children become the prime targets for ‘school bullies’;


• Children with Autism, Down Syndrome, and Cerebral Palsy often begin their life with a communication impairment. These children often face great difficulties accessing an adequate level of service. A difficult parenting task is made even more daunting;


• At least 30 per cent of people post-stroke suffer loss of language (aphasia), and 85 per cent of those with Parkinson’s disease having voice, speech and/ or swallowing difficulties. Finding speech pathology services for elderly parents is one of the greatest challenges for Australian families. Untreated swallowing difficulties leads to aspiration pneumonia, resulting in admission to our already overburdened hospital system. With an ageing Australian population this is a speech pathology problem that is just not going to go away;


• For Australian families living in regional and remote Australia, accessing speech pathology services has become a postcode lottery. There are only 12.7 speech pathologists per 100,000 people in remote areas, compared to 25.9 in our major cities. (Even less in very remote areas);


• Indigenous Australian families also struggle to access the services of speech pathologists. Three in every 1,000 Australian newborns have hearing loss, which without intervention can affect their speech, language and literacy. Indigenous children have three times more hearing problems than non-Indigenous children.

“Communication and swallowing problems largely go unnoticed in Australia,” said Deborah Theodoros, President of Speech Pathology Australia.
“Australians with communication and swallowing disorder are largely invisible. They are the silent sufferers of disorders that cannot maximise their future educational, health and social outcomes, without the intervention of speech pathologists.
“Over 1.1 million Australians have a communication or swallowing disorder. That is roughly the same number of Australians who live with diabetes! And three times the number of Australians who suffer from dementia.
“It’s time for action on behalf of our politicians. The issues of access to services for sufferers of communication and swallowing disorders has for too long been ignored.
“The Senate Committee has responsibility to ensure that these silent sufferers are heard by government.
“It’s estimated that one in five Australians will experience communication difficulties at some point in their lives. This can range from mild to very severe and can impact on the way they participate in family life, the community, education and the workplace.
“Speech pathologists are specialists in all forms of communication. We work with people to maximise their ability to communicate in a way that best meets their needs and abilities.”
Today, speech pathologists work in a wide range of settings – schools, hospitals, nursing homes, universities, kindergartens, rehabilitation centres, community health centres, private practice and mental health services.