JCPSLP November 2016

children with complex disabilities, (d) red flags for the need for speech therapy intervention for children with speech sound disorders, (e) augmentative and alternative communication, (f) working with parents, and (g) behavioural management. In addition, we included the Đà N ẵ ng participants in clinical practice sessions with our patients. Thanks to our experience in working with Australian speech therapists during the clinical terms of the speech therapy training program at University Pham Ngoc Thach, we had accumulated experience that we could apply in the clinical training of the participants. We started by having them observe sessions, then plan for and deliver parts of session, gradually taking on responsibility for planning and delivering whole sessions under our supervision. Towards the end of the training block, we had them teach parents strategies to help their children develop language and manage their inappropriate behaviors at home. By the end of the training course, the four participants had been involved in 600 sessions of speech therapy practice with more than 100 patients with language delay, ASD, cerebral palsy, hearing impairments, cleft lip and palate, and Down syndrome. At the end of the block, participants needed to achieve 70% as a pass on two theoretical and practical examinations, and submit one assessment report and one treatment report for patients they had managed. On completion of the course, the participants received a certificate issued by CH No.1 for completion of the course “Basic Paediatric Speech Therapy Practice”. Despite being faced with many challenges in terms of time and work pressure, we strive to provide high-quality training for colleagues throughout Vietnam in order to increase public awareness of the speech therapy profession and quality of speech therapy services provided to patients, and thereby, contribute to increasing the quality of life of patients with communication and swallowing disorders in Vietnam. This vignette illustrates indigenisation and cultural adaptation of a western curriculum for delivery in the Vietnamese context, making best use of the available Vietnamese health workforce to deliver sustainable services while a specialised speech-language pathology workforce is educated in Vietnam. Vignette 5. Using all available media to educate professionals, students and the community Le Thi Dao I have been working in Ho Chi Minh City since 1987 as a physiotherapist, and since 2010 also as a speech therapist at Children’s Hospital No.2. Because speech therapy is new in Vietnam, it is important to educate others about the profession and what we can offer. Since 2010, I have been promoting speech therapy to colleagues at the hospital and running information and education activities for the community. For example, I have been: • Presenting at regular meetings with the hospital board of directors and heads of departments about topics such as “Introducing speech therapy in Vietnam” and “Speech therapy intervention methods” • Introducing colleagues at the hospital to speech therapy by inviting them to observe speech therapy sessions and discuss cases.

• Running training sessions for teachers and parents on Saturday mornings on various topics, such as “ASD”, “How to feed children with cerebral palsy”, and “Developing language skills in children using picture stimulation”. I have developed a number of resources for parents (e.g., books on helping children’s language development). • Teaching nurses and doctors at the Rehabilitation Hospital in Đà N ẵ ng about ASD, and then demonstrating and coaching them in skills such as how to observe a child, help a child make eye contact, increase attention, games to develop children’s play skills. • Teaching nursing and psychology students at universities in HCMC about rehabilitation for people with various communication disorders (hearing difficulties, speech sound disorders, stuttering, language disorders). • Contributing articles about communication and swallowing disorders and speech therapy to hospital websites; for example articles on “Child language development processes”, “Hoarse voice”, “Fussy eaters”; and sharing articles on my Facebook page (see: https://www.facebook.com/lethi.dao.77/timeline). • Participating in Vietnamese television talk shows. VTV9 channel has a talk show about children, which includes medical professionals and parents. My hospital’s board of directors assigned me to present the topic on language development of children, how to identify problems and help children develop language. On HTV7 I was asked to introduce speech therapy in Vietnam and the types of disorders that need speech therapy intervention. I also talked about support Vietnam receives from Australian speech therapists and the Trinh Foundation. • Collaborating with cleft lip and palate surgery groups. In trips to regional areas with Operation Smile, I coached Focusing initial service development efforts on community education and advocacy activities as described has been essential to my experience as a newly qualified speech- language pathologist. The vignette illustrates culturally acceptable means to educate my colleagues. This has increased their knowledge and trust in this new profession of speech therapy and so they now refer clients to the speech therapy department. Clients also contact us directly and teachers in schools refer clients to us for intervention. Discussion and conclusion The vignettes presented have common elements for consideration. Significantly, they all focus on educating others, from the Art Group which educated family members and the general public through the engagement of art students and the launching of an art exhibition (Vignette 2) to educating a range of health and education professionals, university health students and the general public (vignettes 3–5). Li Thi Dao’s education of the general public through television, Facebook and other media is impressive in its reach, creativity and generosity of time and effort. Educating others about the speech-language pathology profession and what it can offer is essential, and not just in a country newly establishing the profession and its services. Vignettes 4 and 5 also highlight indigenisation of curricula and SLP resources. The authors adapted what they had teachers and medical staff about assessment and intervention methods for children with cleft lip and palate.

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JCPSLP Volume 18, Number 3 2016

Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology