SP 2030 Report

Making it happen

As we step into the future, the speech pathology profession will:

• work with other relevant professions and consumer peak bodies to provide: • training in person-centred practice to guide change in organisational policy and practice; • voluntary assessment, feedback and accreditation of person-centredness; • a voluntary system of mentoring of speech pathologists by clients to advance person-centred practice; and • respond to client needs and preferences, including when, where and how services are delivered; and • incorporate each client’s story, goals, culture, experiences of language, perspectives on well- being, and relationship to their community. • ensure all clients, and the community, are provided with information about what to expect from a high-quality speech pathology service; • research the process, impacts and outcomes of person- centred practice; • peer mentors for clients with similar needs. • work with clients to design service models that:

• develop and ensure access to information for clients on established and emerging interventions for different clinical presentations, including the strength of available evidence for different client groups;

• involve clients in:

• establishing and administering standards for professional ethics and quality practice; • accreditation processes for pre-entry training programs; • prioritising, developing and delivering key areas of the speech pathology pre-entry curriculum and continuing professional development program; • determining research priorities, conducting research and interpreting research findings; • relevant committees and programs of Speech Pathology Australia; and • planning, evaluation and governance of clinical services and community capacity building programs. • ensure appropriate compensation for clients who play a role in contributing their skills and experience to the service system.

Leading the way...

Deadly Ears, Queensland Health

you realise that what might be right ‘technically’ doesn’t always bring the best outcomes. Taking a path that doesn’t suit the family or that they aren’t ready for can get in the way of the relationship and trust you have built. This could then mean you risk losing the opportunity to support them at all.” She explained that the relationship is key. “Even though you have only just met, if they see that you really are there just for them and what’s important to them, the relationship builds so quickly. The follow-up phone call is very powerful—the fact that you cared enough to recontact them to see how they were going.”

call. The focus is on the family’s story, goals and concerns; what the issues mean to them; what they think might help the most and be achievable for their family; and how their child’s strengths and passions can be used to support their development. The professional’s skills and knowledge are used to support the family’s specific goals and to help them make the most of the knowledge, expertise and opportunities they have. A Deadly Ears speech pathologist, said: “This is a very different way of working than the ‘expert model’ we’re used to. There are times when it can initially feel incredibly difficult. You might think that a different path is needed than what the family might be suggesting

At the Inala Hearing Health Hub, the Queensland Health Deadly Ears team works with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families using a family-centred consultation model. The model is informed by family-centred coaching models and models for single session work and was developed by trialling and adapting different approaches to best suit the clinic context. The team is now researching how the model contributes to the quality of their engagement with families. In the knowledge that some families may only ever access a single session, the emphasis is on getting the best possible outcomes from every single encounter. Each cycle of contact involves an initial phone call, a face- to-face session and a follow-up phone

and you can feel a lot of conflict about that. But with experience

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www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/SP2030