JCPSLP Vol 19 No 1 March 2017

another child whose SLP, who did not speak te reo herself, incorporated te reo Ma- ori in therapy and the child had a beneficial therapy experience (Faithfull, 2015). So how does an SLP deliver therapy that is decolonising and transformative when they do not speak te reo Ma- ori and there are few New Zealand-specific resources? As for any client whose language the SLP does not speak, the use of appropriate interpreters is paramount. It is important to consider that it may not just be words that need to be interpreted but Ma- ori concepts (McLellan et al., 2014). One way of making sure that resources are suitable is to use age-appropriate resources from the client’s own wha- nau and community, for example, local newspapers, magazines, books, photos, stories, games, or toys. Because they come from the community they will be relevant to the community. At times it will be necessary to undertake formal assessment, although the value of this is questionable if the assessment was not designed for, or normed on, a Ma- ori, or even New Zealand, population. In these circumstances it would be wise to discuss the assessment with Ma- ori colleagues in advance and seek their advice about any items that might cause confusion or offence. Then decide whether these items can be removed from the assessment or need to remain. The SLP can then thoroughly prepare the client and wha- nau for what to expect from the assessment and debrief with them after it has been completed. Decolonising therapy is also about creating the right atmosphere for therapeutic engagement. Parents and teachers interviewed by Faithfull (2015) reported a situation where the SLP was repeatedly invited to come to the ko- hanga reo, the setting in which the child would have been most comfortable, but the SLP continued to push for home visits, to the detriment of the therapeutic relationship. While it can be difficult to create the right atmosphere in a hospital or clinic setting, the environment has an impact on the transformative potential for the therapy (McLellan et al., 2014). SLPs, managers, and funders need to consider where the client is most comfortable ahead of where policy dictates that therapy can take place. Even if the therapy location is inflexible, there are small ways in which people can be made to feel more at home, such as the artwork that is on the walls, the cleanliness of the environment and the provision of water, tea, and coffee. The decolonisation and transformation emphasised in kaupapa Ma- ori research is not only for the good of the individual but the good of the whole community. While speech-language pathology strives to be client-centred, we must also consider not just being transformative for individuals and wha- nau but for communities. What do overall patterns of Ma- ori health and education tell us? Who is missing out on therapy? Who has been discharged because they “DNA’d” too many times? Who has shifted house so many times that we have lost track of them? We cannot say that our service is decolonising and transformative if it does well for the families we see for therapy but fails to deliver for others. Qualitative researchers listen to people’s stories The final research element to guide clinical practice is not from kaupapa Ma- ori research per se, but from qualitative research. Qualitative research often investigates people’s experiences of a health condition or a health/education provider. Following the example of qualitative research, clinicians will be equipped to provide a better service for

Glossary he kanohi kitea

the seen face

kaitakawaenga

mediator, arbitrator

kanohi ki te kanohi

face to face

kaupapa Ma- ori

Ma- ori ideology

kura kaupapa Ma- ori

Ma- ori immersion primary school the indigenous peoples of New Zealand

Ma- ori

marae

traditional meeting place

ma- tauranga Ma- ori

Ma- orii knowledge

Nga- Pou Mana

Ma- ori Allied Health Professionals of Aotearoa non-Ma- orii, usually used to refer to New Zealand Europeans Te Ohu Rata o Aotearoa – Ma- ori Medical Practitioners Association

Pa- keha-

Te ORA

te reo Ma- ori, te reo

the Ma- ori language

Te Wa- nanga o Aotearoa a Ma- ori university

wha- nau

(extended) family

Wha- nau Ora

Healthy family. The New Zealand government’s current approach to education, health and social service delivery

with American words”. There are very few New Zealand- specific therapy assessments and resources, no Ma- ori- specific resources for adults, and many challenges involved in making them (Brewer, McCann, & Harwood, 2016). We are largely reliant on imports from the US and Britain. Therapists tend to use these with acknowledgement of their limitations, but possibly without sufficient thought to the impact they might have on the client. Tawhai’s experience did not stop with the use of “American books”. He described a system that was colonising and, sadly, he placed some of the blame on himself, saying “I s’pose I was asking them the wrong questions of them I s’pose, I don’t know. Because it wasn’t helping, it was a Pa- keha- [non-Ma- ori] system and it wasn’t working on me, it wasn’t working”. Similarly, regardless of whether an SLP speaks te reo Ma- ori, their attitude towards the language can be colonising or decolonising and result in therapy that is transformative or not. McLellan et al., (2014) reported the experiences of a woman with aphasia whose SLP, who did not speak te reo Ma- ori, did not recognise when she was correctly using te reo Ma- ori to answer questions. This contributed to a poor therapeutic relationship and the woman resisting therapy. Parents and teachers in a ko- hanga reo (Ma- ori immersion preschool) reported an SLP assessing a child only in English when his first, and strongest, language was te reo Ma- ori. They contrasted this with the experiences of

11

JCPSLP Volume 19, Number 1 2017

www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au