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spWEEK 2015

SPWeek 2015 – #Talkwithme

Thank you to everyone who was involved or participated in Speech Pathology Week in 2015. The feedback from those ‘at the coalface’ was that the public awareness campaign was successful in making more Australians aware of those in our community who have a communication or swallowing difficulty. The Association ran a dedicated social media campaign throughout August to promote the week, through its Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts, using the @SpeechPathAus handle and the #Talkwithme and #SPweek hashtags. The Instagram and Facebook campaigns included photographs and comments from National Office staff and Association Board Directors in an effort to help ‘put a face to the name’. As a result of the campaign, the Association has been able to significantly increase its followers on all three social media platforms. The distribution of 140,000 postcards was a first for the Association during Speech Pathology Week. The postcards distributed through around 1,500 venues across Australia helped give the campaign a national impact. The success or otherwise of the postcard campaign is still to be assessed, though the ‘Talk with me’ page on the website was in the top 10 pages visited on the Association’s website during the month of August. Speech Pathology Week (23–29 August) saw the Association’s President, Gaenor Dixon, hitting the airwaves in a concerted radio media campaign. The Association was able to secure a number of radio interviews during the course of the week, all helping to promote the campaign theme: Talk with me. The media highlight of the week was an hour-long session on ABC Radio Brisbane with Kelly Higgins-Devine speaking with Gaenor Dixon, Professor Deborah Theodoros, and Professor Linda Worrall and her client Bruce Aisthorpe, about the challenges faced by speech pathologists in handling communication and swallowing disorders, and importantly, the significant and life-changing impact of these disorders on children and adults alike. There was also an on-the-ground campaign conducted by individual Speech Pathology Association members and their Branches. Displays in libraries, newspaper and radio interviews, and ‘Talk with me’ events, all helped to promote Speech Pathology Week, the speech pathology profession and the issues surrounding communication and swallowing disorders. At the two ends of the same spectrum, Kathy Osborne on the Gold Coast, secured a ‘Talk with me’ display in the Runaway Bay Library; and in Karratha, Irene Long spoke with Radio ABC Kimberley (Broome) about the challenges of being a speech pathologist in North West Western Australia. ‘Down under’, the Tasmanian Branch had ‘bestselling’ success with their No Bars On Books campaign in the lead-up to and during Speech Pathology Week. Led by Branch Chair, Rosie Martin, and ably assisted by Linda Williams, Nicole Hatch and Catherine Wood, and many others, the Branch ran a hugely effective community-wide campaign that resulted in the donation of more than 3,500 new and quality second hand books for a program to help prisoners read to their children. The No Bars On Books initiative was conducted in partnership with 936 ABC Local Radio, LINC Tasmania, the Tasmania Prison Service, the Department of Education, and 26Ten. The initiative was publicly endorsed by the Tasmanian Commissioner for Police and the State’s Attorney-General and Minister for Corrections. Michael Kerrisk Communications and Marketing Manager

Speak Out October 2015

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www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au