JCPSLP November 2016

to achieve the goals for each child, in order to maximise intervention outcomes. Staff are easily able to identify a child’s unique strengths and needs, and determine what services are necessary to meet those needs. ORH is continuously developing, evaluating and refining this new model for early intervention services in Vietnam so that it can be introduced to other organisations in HCMC and southern Vietnam. When this new model is further developed and there are enough staff members, ORH will accept staff members from other organisations who wish to learn about, and implement, the model. Coaching and supported practice in other organisations will be provided. This vignette illustrates one approach to indigenisation of a western model of good practice in early intervention to the Vietnamese context. In the absence of sufficient speech- language therapists, an available workforce of allied health and education professionals has been trained to deliver early intervention services which include foci on communication and social development. This training and deployment of existing workers also assists the sustainability of the service. Vignette 4. Training basic paediatric speech therapy practical skills for staff at Đ à N ẵ ng University of Medical Technology and Pharmacy Trà Thanh Tâm and Hoàng V ă n Quyên In recent years, significant progress has been made in Vietnam in public health in terms of health professional expertise and service quality. Most of the 33 speech therapy graduates to date from University Pham Ngoc Thach work in Ho Chi Minh City. Rapidly developing cities such as Đà N ẵ ng have well-established medical services but do not yet have speech therapy education and services. In order to increase availability of information about speech therapy and also accessibility to speech therapy services for people in central Vietnam, the authors, who are September 2012 graduates of the course at University Pham Ngoc Thach now working at Children’s Hospital No.1 (CH No.1), HCMC, have developed and delivered a basic training program in speech therapy for physiotherapy lecturers at Đà N ẵ ng University of Medical Technology and Pharmacy (DUMPT). It was a challenge for us to ensure continuity of speech therapy services at CH No.1, while also preparing the course, and compiling training resources to meet the learning needs of participants in the upcoming training course. The participants had little concept of speech therapy so we had to consider this as well in our planning. After a six-week theoretical training course in Đà N ẵ ng in 2014, we continued mentoring the participants by phone and email. In 2015, DUMTP sent four lecturers to CH No.1 to continue with the speech therapy clinical training. This clinical training block lasted six months. In the first two months, we helped participants synthesise knowledge they had learned in Đà N ẵ ng while providing new knowledge of speech therapy, such as (a) typical communication developmental milestones from infancy to 5 years, (b) speech therapy for children with cleft lip and palate, (c) speech therapy and intervention for feeding/eating in

improved self-confidence and satisfaction with new learning from this Art Group are sufficient to justify some formal research on conducting independently assessed clinical trials of this therapy process. The volunteer participation of art students promoted wider community engagement and has ensured the economic viability and sustainability of the program. A public exhibition of participants’ art was opened in October 2014. The attendance of high-ranking government officials and staff of several hospitals plus extensive media coverage has helped to raise public awareness of the potential possibilities for people to find meaningful lives after acquired or congenital brain dysfunction. This engagement of hospital and government officials is a strategic approach to ensuring support and sustainability of the program. Vignette 3. A new model of public early intervention services with an interdisciplinary team Le Thi Thanh Xuan In Vietnam, most early intervention centres are private, with preschool teachers, psychologists or special education teachers on staff. Typically, a psychologist or doctor assesses children, and teachers develop and deliver an intervention plan, without parental involvement. Intervention goals are focused on cognitive and academic tasks, without attention to social, communication and speech development goals. Children from low and average income families rarely can afford to attend the centres, as fees range from 7 to 15 mill VND (about A$400–$870) per annum. In December 2014, the Orthopedics and Rehabilitation Hospital (ORH) of Ho Chi Minh City established public early intervention services for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with staff from different professions involved, including speech therapists, psychologists, social workers, special education teachers, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists. A means- tested fee is charged ranging from 4–4.2mill VND (about A$233–$245). This fee includes lunch, morning/afternoon tea, and activity consumables. The model at ORH is adapted from Australian interdisciplinary models for early intervention, which I observed on a study tour to Melbourne in mid-2015. I coach the ORH team to work collaboratively with each other and with parents to develop intervention goals targeting play, social, self-help, communication, and language goals for each child. Intervention is based on each child’s current ability and interest, helping her or him to be active in interaction and initiating communication. There are currently 20 children attending three classes of early intervention services per week in groups of three to four children. Children attend class from 7:00 am to 16:00 pm; rest time is from 11:30 am to 14:00 pm. I train parents to use communication development approaches and AAC at home. The involvement of parents is indispensable and extends the intervention from the centre to the children’s homes. We keep data on children’s improvement to reflect on the impact of the early intervention service and modify it as needed. With this interdisciplinary early intervention model, the staff has the advantage of increasing knowledge of other professions and sharing their skill set. Team meetings provide an opportunity for staff to share ideas for how

Hoàng V ă n Quyên (top), Le Thi Dao (centre)

and Lindy McAllister

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JCPSLP Volume 18, Number 3 2016

www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au