JCPSLP - March 2018

It is vital to mount a case that students with DLD should be able to apply for SEAs. This is particularly important in cases where the student clearly does struggle under timed conditions, and is more successful when provided with extra time or an alternative accommodation, such as a scanning pen. What do we need to do to advocate for students with DLD? Unfortunately, there appears to be a lack of clearly documented evidence of the value to students with DLDs of extra time in examinations. Although it is likely that for many students extra time may do little to alter the outcomes, there are potentially numerous individuals, like Emma, for whom extra time could be of paramount importance. If it can be shown that the current policies and guidelines essentially disallow deserving students from participating in the examination process “on the same basis” as their peers, then it may be possible to encourage the inclusion of students with DLDs in the SEA process. In the event that Emma continues to access additional time, passes her school exams, successfully completes her WACE exams, and is awarded an ATAR score at the completion of year 12, her case could be used as further evidence of the need for, and value of, improved support for students with DLD. Our Speech Pathology Australia Code of Ethics reminds us that, in our duties to our clients and to the community (Section 3.1.6 Service planning and provision), ‘ We advocate for services where a need is identified ’. Ethics of care refers to our willingness to serve as advocates for individuals, families and communities. An ethics of care framework is in keeping with a relationships-based approach – at the heart of our professional work. Cases such as the one outlined here remind our profession of the need to adopt a broader advocacy role for our clients, as they (and we) navigate the path to diagnosis and the best possible interventions and support. Greater recognition of DLD and its implications is a worthy and important goal.

Suze Leitão and Jenny Baker are speech pathologists with many years of experience working with children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and specific learning disability (SLD), in a variety of settings. Suze is also the chair of the Speech Pathology Australia Ethics Board. Mandy Nayton OAM , is an educational and developmental psychologist, and the CEO of Dyslexia-SPELD WA. Correspondence to: Suze Leitão School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Curtin University phone: + 61 8 9266 7620 email: S.Leitao@exchange.curtin.edu.au 1 Not her real name 2 WACE: Western Australian Certificate of Education Year 12 exams 3 For the purposes of this article, only the CELF-4 scores have been reported, although the full battery included functional and discourse level language measures, and took into consideration a detailed history/background. References Carrow-Woolfolk, E. (2011). Oral and written language scales (2nd ed.). Torrance, CA: WPS Publishers. Speech Pathology Australia. (2010). Code of ethics . Melbourne: Speech Pathology Association of Australia. Retrieved 28 April 2017 from https://www. speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/SPAweb/Members/Ethics/ spaweb/Members/Ethics/Ethics Snowling, M.J., Stothard, S.E., Clarke, P., Bowyer-Crane, C., Harrington, A., Truelove, E., & Nation, K. (2009). YARC York assessment of reading for comprehension passage reading . London: GL Education Group Ltd. Wagner, R.K., Torgesen, J.K., Rashotte, C.A., & Pearson, N.A. (2013). Comprehensive test of phonological processing (2nd ed.). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed, USA. Woodcock, R. W. (2011). Woodcock reading mastery tests (3rd ed.). San Antonio, TX: Pearson Clinical, Canada.

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JCPSLP Volume 20, Number 1 2018

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