Speak Out Feb 2013

Report on school-based speech and language program

P rivate practitioners are accustomed to receiving requests for far reaching school visits, but this opportunity has proven to be one of a kind. Five years and seven visits later, speech pathology is gathering momentum at Nyngan Public School. Nyngan is located in the heart of NSW in the Orana region, between Narromine and Bourke. It has a relatively small population of 2,500, with a greater percentage of Indigenous community members (15%) in comparison with Australia in general (2.3%; Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006). It is a supportive farming and mining community. The speech and language program at Nyngan Public School has developed collaboratively from the outset and each year continues to evolve and improve. The program has been made possible due to funding through the Priority Schools Program (PSP), which allows schools in low socioeconomic areas to access money to address individual school needs. Staff had become concerned with the increasing number of students with speech and language difficulties and the impact that this was having on their academic outcomes. They therefore decided that these skills should be a particular area of focus. The speech and language program commenced with training staff in identifying and remediating language and literacy related difficulties. I was honoured to be able to present the program plan to key members of the community at an evening gathering. Initially the focus was on evaluation, as many of the students had been on waitlists for speech and language assessments. The remoteness of Nyngan added to the barrier of access to services, both public and private. With time, staff training, and discussion with teachers and parents, the school has developed independence in their implementation and adjustments to

Supportive environment: Students from Nyngan Public School have benefited from the introduction of a dedicated speech and language program.

Private Practice goes Rural: The Nyngan Speech and Language Program

professional growth. This year I celebrate 20 years of private practice. Since graduating in 1993, I have taken on many challenges, both clinically and business related. My business has grown from being a sole practitioner to employing five full-time speech pathologists working with mixed paediatric and adult caseloads across the Nepean and Blue Mountains region. In looking back, I could never have envisaged the ways in which my career would not only enrich my life, but that of my family’s lives. Speech pathology has also improved the quality of a number of my close family’s lives, who have called upon the skills of the profession to guide their swallowing and communication skills. I am now looking forward to continuing my speech pathology journey, wherever it may take me. Belinda Hill NSW Branch Private Practitioner Member Network Representative and Director of Belinda Hill & Associates – Speech-language pathologists

the program as needed. Aides are able to conduct speech and language screening assessments and identify students requiring formal assessment. Strong links are in place connecting language and literacy development in therapy sessions and in the classroom. Rural speech pathologists work within close-knit, spirited communities. This year my family was invited to accompany me on my visit and my children attended school with me each day. It was a wonderful opportunity for them to appreciate both the challenges and freedom of rural life. In 2013 we have negotiated school- wide language enrichment sessions to be conducted each day in addition to individual and group sessions for identified students. I have also discussed a clinical education program with the executive staff and plan to take speech pathology students to be part of the program. The evolution of the Nyngan speech and language program seems to mirror the history of my own

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Speak Out February 2013

Speech Pathology Australia