Speak Out April 2021

Professional Standards and university accreditation Association NEWS

Speech Pathology Australia have initiated a strategic project focusing on the implementation of the new Professional Standards for university accreditation. This project is titled ‘Activity 1: Implementation of the Professional Standards for Universities’. It is being led by Associate Professor Anne Hill and Associate Professor Anthony Angwin along with a project Steering Committee. The proposed outcomes include a set of guidelines for both universities and accreditors as they move towards accreditation which aligns with the new Professional Standards. A key aspect of this project is stakeholder consultation. To ensure appropriate representation of the profession’s views, consultations will occur with a broad range of stakeholders. Representatives will include workplace managers and employers of new graduates, clinical educators and team leaders, early career practitioners, university stakeholders and SPA committees including the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Committee. There was an opportunity for members of

the profession to participate in a roundtable at the Asia Pacific Education Collaboration in Speech Language Pathology (APEC SLP) on 25 March 2021 and speech

pathologists are invited to participate in the Professional Standards workshop on 1 June 2021 at the Speech Pathology Australia National Conference. Like to know more? If you would like to know more about the process or have views which might significantly inform the project relating to university accreditation, please contact Kylie Webb, Project Coordinator k.webb1@uq.edu.au before 31 May 2021.

Research grant awarded Measures to inform the delivery of services to bottle-fed infants The clinician-researcher partnership grant

Observational assessments of tongue-tie exist for breastfed infants, and instrumental assessments are useful diagnostically for suspected dysphagia, but neither are suitable for clinical use in bottle-fed infants. Clinical assessments typically include subjective observation of the infant’s oral structure and function without the ability to visualise and gain valuable feedback on function during feeding. There are currently no objective measures of feeding available for bottle- fed infants. The infant© feeding solution provides real-time feedback on sucking performance with objective measures within clinical settings. Normative data is available for term and premature infants, but no data exists for infants with tongue-tie. This study will prospectively measure oral structure and feeding skills of 26 tongue-tied infants before and after surgery using a novel and innovative feeding assessment. The results will provide objective data for speech pathologists, reassurance for parents, and assist medical professionals’ decision-making regarding surgical intervention, so surgery is only recommended for infants with observable functional deficits.

was offered for the second time in 2020. Nine applications were received from five states covering a range of areas of research. The grant was awarded to Ms Irene Orkopoulos, Dr Sharon Smart and Dr Mary Claessen, and will be administered through Curtin University, WA. The research project is titled 'Objective measures of tongue structure and function in bottle-fed infants with ankyloglossia (tongue-tie)' and aims to provide objective measures to inform practice in the delivery of services to bottle-fed infants with tongue tie. The project is summarised below. Surgery rates for tongue-tie increased by 420% in Australia between 2006 and 2016. Strong evidence exists that tongue-tie has a detrimental impact on breastfeeding. However, many parents of infants with tongue-tie transition to bottle- feeding before underlying deficits in oral structure and function are identified. A significant challenge confronting speech pathologists working in feeding is the lack of objective measures of tongue structure and function for use with the infant population within the clinical setting.

Dr Mary Claessen

Dr Sharon Smart

Irene Orkopoulos

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Speak Out | April 2021