JCPSLP Vol 17 No 1 2015_lores

Diversity in practice

What’s the evidence: Diversity in practice Cori Williams

A column addressing the evidence on diversity in the context of speech pathology in Australia could take a number of different perspectives. It could focus on the evidence surrounding approaches to assessment of clients from diverse backgrounds, or on the evidence surrounding the important questions of intervention with this population. Neither of these possibilities is taken up here. Rather, this column will address the evidence surrounding diversity in the profession, and diversity in the client base in Australia. Diversity in the profession What constitutes diversity in the profession of speech pathology in Australia? It could perhaps be seen to encompass two aspects – diversity in the workforce and diversity in the range of practice and employment contexts. Evidence of diversity in the workforce is difficult to track down, one of the reasons that Speech Pathology Australia (SPA) continues to advocate that speech pathology be included in the national registration and accreditation scheme. Some evidence is, however, available. We are all aware that the gender balance in the speech pathology workforce is skewed very much in the direction of women. Records of membership of SPA indicate that only 2% are male. From this perspective, diversity in the profession is somewhat lacking. Evidence on the cultural background of members is not available, although SPA plans to request this information of members in the near future. Currently, the association does record the languages other than English that members report speaking. A total of 80 languages is recorded, from Afrikaans and Arabic to Yolngu Matha and Zulu, and including a range of European and Asian languages. A small number of members also report speaking African (e.g., Shona) and Middle Eastern languages (e.g., Arabic) and languages from the Indian subcontinent (e.g., Hindi, Gujarati). The most commonly reported languages are, in order of frequency, Auslan, French, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Italian. No information is available regarding the level of proficiency of members in these languages, an important consideration when evaluating the capability of the workforce to provide services to clients from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Proficiency levels may not be high. A national

survey carried out in late 2012 indicated that 30% of 540 respondents reported speaking at least one language other than English. Of these, 25% reported that they were proficient in at least one other language (Williams, in preparation). Diversity in the range of practice of speech pathologists is outlined in SPA documents, including Competency- based Occupational Standards for Speech Pathologists (CBOS; SPA, 2011) and the Scope of Practice (SPA, 2003). Speech pathologists work across the lifespan, providing services to clients with needs in the core areas of communication and swallowing and to their families, carers, educators, and employers as well as with other professionals involved in their care. The range of services provided is similarly diverse, and encompasses both direct and indirect approaches. The scope of practice lists services under ten categories: clinical services; specialist advice; use of instrumentation; behavioural and environmental modification; services related to hearing loss or central auditory processing disorders; modification of communication; service management; negotiation of service delivery models; and provision of expert witness evidence. Services are provided in a wide range of contexts, for many purposes and using a variety of approaches. Similar diversity in range of practice and contexts for working is embedded in the documents of other speech pathology organisations (see, for example, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association [ASHA], 2007; Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists [RCSLT], 2006; Speech-Language and Audiology Canada, 2014). Such diversity clearly points to the need for members of the profession to adopt a philosophy of lifelong learning. It also provides opportunity for those of us working in the profession to take up new challenges within the profession during our working lives. Diversity in the client base The diversity of the Australian population is well known. Compared with other western countries, Australia’s migrant population makes up a relatively large proportion (around 26%) of the total (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2014). Migration is the main component of population growth in Australia – population increase through migration has exceeded growth from births for six consecutive years (Department of Immigration and Citizenship, 2012). Migrants come from a range of countries. The largest number of migrants come from the UK and New Zealand, but those from China, India, Vietnam, the Philippines, South

Cori Williams

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JCPSLP Volume 17, Number 1 2015

Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology