Speak Out June 2019

Northern Territory

NT 61 members as at April 2019

On 20 February, speech pathologists Anna Green and Melissa (Melba) Ridd presented to the Northern Territory (NT) Police currently undertaking a Child Forensic Interviewing course. Anna and Melba were charged with the task of teaching the police officers about interviewing children with communication impairments. The police officers who attended the course were subject matter experts in homicide, domestic violence, sex crimes and child abuse. The NT Branch of SPA has been proactive in advocacy in the youth justice population and has been looking to build collaborative relationships with police in regards to youth and adult offenders and victims. The opportunity was welcomed to engage with police regarding this “up-and-coming” area in speech pathologists’ scope of practice - not typically an area that NT speech pathologists work in. Anna and Melba covered the role of a speech pathologist, defined communication and communication impairments, identified the types of children who might have a communication impairment, discussed some barriers to interviewing children with communication impairment and spent a significant portion of our presentation sharing interview strategies. The police officers had some carefully considered questions and many had multifaceted case studies to share about the challenges they have faced when interviewing children with communication impairment. It was clear that the police officers could see a role for speech pathologists assisting with particular cases. The organiser of the course indicated that she wished to have speech pathology expertise included in future Child Forensic Interviewing courses. The NT Branch plans to continue collaborating with the NT Police and demonstrate the value of speech pathology input in their work with offenders and victims. Collaborating with NT Police to provide a voice for vulnerable children

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June 2019 www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

Speak Out