ACQ Vol 11 No 1 2009

MULTICULTURALISM AND DYSPHAGIA

T op 10 R esources for S tudents and N ew G raduates W orking with CALD C lients Elizabeth Old I am Elizabeth Old and I’m about to complete my Masters Degree at Macquarie University. During my placements I’ve had the experience of assessing adult and paediatric clients with the help of an interpreter. I have also treated a paediatric client in his first language with the assistance of an interpreter. I look forward to working with more culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) clients in my final placement. I was inspired to put this resource list together while I was at a meeting of the Multicultural Interest Group. I had seen a similar list for Aphasia resources which I thought was great, so I decided to apply the idea to resources to use with culturally and linguistically diverse clients. I have tried to make them practical – the sort of things I would like at my finger tips when I start working. I hope you find them useful!

1 How to access interpreter services This policy directive from NSW Health contains comprehensive information regarding when to use and how to book health care interpreters from the NSW Health Care Interpreter Service. Also included is the code of ethics for the Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators (AUSIT) which can assist clinicians gaining a greater understanding of how interpreters see their role and their boundaries: http://www.health. nsw.gov.au/policies/pd/2006/pdf/PD2006_053.pdf Clinicians in private practice looking for interpreters can access them through the Australian Health Care Directory: http://www.healthdirectory.com.au/ Health_industry_resources/Interpreters/search 2 CALD play groups The Play Group Association of NSW has a facility on its website under “Find a play group” that allows you to search for playgroups where participants speak a particular language. Languages include Indigenous and most European languages. Free call 1800 171 882 or visit: http://www.playgroupnsw.com.au/nsw/go/find-a- playgroup 3 CALD carers Carers NSW has four popular carer fact sheets translated into a range of languages. These fact sheets include information about Carers NSW and information about carer support groups. Other translated fact sheets include “the seven habits of highly effective carers” and “information regarding the impact of a home placement”. A free carer support kit can also be ordered in up to 13 languages. Free call 1800 242 636 or go to sitemap: caring in a culturally diverse community at http://www.carersnsw.asn.au/ 4 Translated resources This NSW Health website is part of the Multicultural Health Communication Service and contains excellent

cue cards in many languages as well as a multicultural phrase book: http://www.mhcs.health.nsw.gov.au/ mhcs/subpages/sands/signs_symbols_index.html 5 Information regarding the values and beliefs of different cultures To deliver services in the best possible way it is appropriate to consider different cultural attitudes towards sickness, ageing and developmental disorders. The Multicultural Communities Gold Coast Inc. has fact sheets that provide information about history, culture and attitudes towards aged care, health and sickness for a variety of cultures: http://www.mccgc. com.au/?q=node/55 Books addressing how to treat language disorders in bilingual children and adults also contain useful cultural information. For example: Kohnert, K. (2008). Language disorders in bilingual children and adults . San Diego, CA: Plural Publishing. 6 Phonemic inventories across languages The American Speech Language Hearing Association has information regarding the phonemic system of a number of languages which can be used to identify sounds in a client’s phonological system in languages other than English. This website also has many other useful resources: http://www.asha.org/about/ leadership-projects/multicultural/ 7 Dynamic assessment Dynamic assessment can be used to discover a client’s current level of functioning and the best means of facilitating their further learning using tasks which are minimally dependent on prior knowledge or experience. Articles to start with include: n Laing, S., & Kamhi, A. (2003). Alternative assess­ ment of language and literacy in culturally and

S p eech P athology A ustralia

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