Speak Out December 2019 V2 DIGITAL EDITION

From Kenya to Australia

is unusual with most families that I work with so now, as part of the collection of my activities, "book time" is one of them. When appropriate, I do shared reading. With some children it is at a level where it is to develop interest in books. I should add that a profound impact from the conference was to inspire me to read more about reading and writing support provided by a SLP. • Being watchful of the intensity of treatment in Aphasia patients. By policy, our patients are seen for a maximum of 60 minutes which includes two-way feedback, and patient notes writing, once per week. A study presented at the conference suggested intensive treatment of between 40 to 60 minutes, five days a week. That was not practical in my setting but I adjusted my treatment session time to utilise at least 50 minutes and giving strategies for home practise with very specific instructions and small, easily distinguishable targets. I’ve adhered to that program for one of my adult patients and it has been motivating to both of us with encouraging achievements. • I met two researchers who happened to have adapted a tool that we had been struggling to adapt for our own western Kenya language development pilot survey. They shared with me some of their approaches and right now, we have successfully completed our pilot survey. • I also visited a speech pathology clinic in Maleny – Beyond Words Therapy. While at the centre I had an opportunity of shadowing a SLP and an occupational therapists, and discussing Autism diagnosis with a paediatrician. There is no diagnosis path way for Autism in East Africa. Since I returned, I try to consult with as many professionals as possible concerning a child coming in with an autism diagnosis which I feel is good, evidence-based practise. In conclusion, my practise has benefitted from the learning visit in more ways than I can fully include in this article. Many thanks to SPA for the generous grant that covered all the major costs. Also, I would like to thank Elizabeth Garcia and the entire team of Beyond Words Therapy for the time they gave.

David presenting at the SPA National Conference.

Multisensory Instruction in Language Arts 1

Training Course Gain the skills to teach students:

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Reading

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December 2019 www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

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