2018 National Conference Adelaide

Featured Presenters

Monday 28 May

9.20am – 10.20am

MKP – Keynote Presentation 'Big Sister’ Wisdom: How might Non-Indigenous speech pathologists really engage, effectively, with Indigenous Australia?

Professor Dennis McDermott Professor McDermott is the Director of Flinders University’s two Poche Centres for Indigenous Health and Well-Being (Adelaide and Northern Territory). Dennis is a psychologist, academic and poet. A Koori man, his mother’s family are from Gadigal land (inner Sydney) with connections to encompass early childhood, social determinants of Indigenous health, racism, incarceration, policy, equity, Indigenous social, spiritual and emotional well-being, workforce development, Indigenous health pedagogy, and the nexus of culture and context in service delivery. In 2014 he was awarded a National Senior Teaching Fellowship by the Australian Government’s Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT). Gamilaroi country (north-west NSW). Dennis’ teaching and research interests

Non-Indigenous speech pathologists deliver the majority of interventions and programmes to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Their work is pivotal to improving a range of Indigenous health outcomes, which for many indicators are the worst of any population group in the nation. Yet many, thoroughly competent, professionals report uncertainty regarding how to engage with Indigenous health issues, cultures, clients and communities. My big sister has a simple phrase that captures much: Meet people in their own reality. Which means ‘what’, exactly, for speech pathology? And is it, really as simple as that? This session will address these questions in the light of Speech Pathology Australia’s comprehensive Speech Pathology 2030 report. We’ll particularly focus on the implications for: communication; realised access for all; clients and communities driving service delivery; and quality service. Finally, we’ll investigate: • What would ‘really-effective’ practice look like? • What gets in the road? and, • • Which strategies aid not only individual, but also organisational engagement and effectiveness?

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