JCPSLP Vol 23, Issue 1 2021

Speech pathology: An agile and responsive profession

Viewpoints Speech-language pathology: An agile and responsive profession

Bea Staley There were few, if any, Australians untouched by the global theatrics of 2020. Yet, it was a good year for many of us in the Northern Territory (NT). We had few restrictions, and a dry season where territorians could enjoy our national parks without the crowds. The NT held one of the only in-person writers’ festivals in the country, and Darwin Festival was a moving, multicultural, showcase of territorian talent. Most schools and many workplaces remained open throughout the year, and there was a broad expectation that we would all do our jobs and make the necessary adaptions to accommodate COVID-19 related restrictions and safety precautions (Staley, O’Boyle, Armstrong, et al., 2020). The NT’s Chief Health Officer noted: “our staff have continued to undertake their business-as-usual requirements with a considerable additional COVID-19 workload, with the aim of protecting Territorians and our most vulnerable” (NT Department of Health, 2020, p. 16). Many clinicians and educators were required to do things differently and the extra energy, time and fortitude these shifts in practice created were not accounted for in reduced workloads. But improvisation was welcome, innovation given space on stage and for some this was energising. Through the drama of COVID, the pandemic made visible the interconnected world in which we live, and the way political leadership alters lives. We saw how decisions made overseas impacted our neighbourhoods, clinics and classrooms. We were acting and reacting, and as speech-language pathologists (SLPs), we had a guiding professional practice document in Speech Pathology Australia’s (SPA) aspirations for 2030. As noted by Murphy (2020), “shared values and facts aren’t abstracts. They glue liberal democracies together. They create safe zones for productive resolution of conflict … lay the foundations of trust, because citizens are bound together rather than occupying detached alternative realities” (para. 12–14). As SLPs made changes to meet the needs of their evolving practice, SPA had already provided the shared vision and direction for the future. For example, the pandemic and associated spotlight on global health disparities revived local conversations about the ongoing inequity of service provision for remote communities in the NT. Considering the specific aspiration “Access for All” (Speech Pathology Australia, 2016), clinical service providers appear to be stepping up to meet these needs. Private allied health services have been expanded to include Lajamanu, Kalkarindji, Ngukurr, Numbulwar, Miniyeri, and Urapunga communities. This year we saw how Australian leaders used science and evidence to inform policy and practice around COVID-19. We saw a COVID-19 response that was systemic, and when gaps in the systems revealed themselves, changes were made accordingly. This provided

Australians with confidence in their leadership’s decision- making even when it was unpopular (e.g., lockdowns, closed borders). As professionals involved with teaching reading, speech pathologists illustrated how a wraparound response might look to improving literacy in Australian schools. The visible success of this systemic public health response also gives me hope that we might take a similar approach to macro social issues often the backdrop to our work—issues such as racial discrimination, environmental degradation, poverty, and child protection. While this year has demonstrated what a capable and responsive health care system we have in the NT, there is a danger to the “business as usual” and “new normal” narratives. While we have accepted that services may now include a screen and internet connection between SLPs and their clients, Roy (2020) calls for us to go further: “imagine another world” and be “ready to fight for it.” For many of our clients and their families, normal wasn’t good enough, and we need to push for better. We have a shared professional vision, and now it is up to us to move towards innovation in our clinical practices through intercultural and interdisciplinary collaborations (Staley, Armstrong, Amery, et al., 2020) to reflect that vision. Let us honour the human rights and needs of all people seeking speech-language pathology services. Let us embrace activism and enact our shared professional vision for social justice. Let us strive not only for an agile and responsive profession, but also a profession which drives systemic change to improve the quality of life for all individuals and communities References Murphy, K. (2020, December 26). This was the year Australia restored trust in its politics—and that really is a miracle. The Guardian . https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/ commentisfree/2020/dec/26/this-was-the-year-australia- restored-trust-in-its-politics-and-that-really-is-a-miracle Northern Territory Department of Health (2020). Annual report . https://health.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/ pdf_file/0005/948632/NT-Department-of-Health-Annual- Report-2019-20.PDF Roy, A. (2020, April 4). The pandemic is a portal. Financial Times . https://www.ft.com/content/10d8f5e8- 74eb-11ea-95fe-fcd274e920ca Speech Pathology Australia (2016). Speech Pathology Australia 2030: Making futures happen . https://cld.bz/ bookdata/8jZAsZo/basic-html/page-1.html Staley, B., Armstrong, E., Amery, R., Lowell, A., Wright, T., Jones, C., Taylor, L., & Hodson, J. (2020). Speech language pathology in the Northern Territory: Shifting the focus from clinicians to intercultural, interdisciplinary teamwork. Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech Language Pathology , 22 (1), 34–39.

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JCPSLP Volume 23, Number 1 2021

Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology