Annual Report 2017

Our philosophy Our profession’s service is driven by the needs of clients, families, communities and our society.

International Communication Project The International Communication Project (ICP) resolved in 2017, as part of a wider communication action plan, to undertake a series of social media campaigns in support of a number of international days and by doing this promote greater awareness of communication disabilities. The first of these was conducted around UNESCO’s International Literacy Day on 8 September. The theme for the day was ‘Literacy in a digital world’. The second social media campaign undertaken by the ICP in 2017 was to promote the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) on 3 December. The theme for IDPD 2017 was ‘Transformation towards sustainable and resilient society for all’. The ICP held a face-to-face meeting at the American Speech-Language Hearing Association Congress in Los Angeles in November 2017 where discussions were held about conducting a side event to coincide with the United Nations (UN) Conference of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, and/or a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council during 2018.

Book of the Year The Book of the Year Awards were an outstanding success in 2017, with the awards ceremony hosted again by the State Library of Queensland. In its fourteenth year, the awards received over 150 nominations. The winners in the award’s five categories were: Birth to 3 years: Noisy Nature by Mandy A. Kuhne (Illustrated by Alex Kuhne) Three to 5 years: Me and You by Deborah Kelly (Illustrated by Karen Blair) Five to 8 years: Somewhere Else by Gus Gordon Eight to 10 years: Artie and the Grime Wave by Richard Roxburgh Indigenous children: Mad Magpie by Gregg Dreise. Swallowing Awareness Day After the success of the inaugural Swallowing Awareness Day in 2016, the Association again promoted the day in 2017. The theme in 2017 was "Food and Drink to Die For". The day generated media interest and was well supported by activities undertaken by members and the Association’s Branches. A campaign kit produced for the day was well used and there was clear evidence that Dizzy, the Association’s mascot for the day, was busy promoting the campaign. There was also strong support for the day in social media through the use of the hashtags: #900swallows and #dysphagia.

Communication International Project

Speech Pathology Week Speech Pathology Week seeks to promote the speech pathology profession and the role of speech pathologists in supporting people with communication and swallowing disorders. The theme for Speech Pathology Week in 2017 was Communication Access – Everyone gets the message! A key component of the campaign for Speech Pathology Week in 2017 was the production of a series of videos to promote the week’s theme on communication access.

Each video involved an interview with a speech pathologist and one of their clients. The series

COMMUNICATION ACCESS Everyone gets the message Speech Pathology Week 2017

highlighted the challenges faced by Australians with a communication disability and the issues surrounding communication accessibility.

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2017 ANNUAL REPORT Speech Pathology Australia