Speech Pathology Australia Annual Report 2020

Our Impact

Speech Pathology Australia is valued and recognised in the community.

Book of the Year The Book of the Year Awards were an outstanding success in 2020, despite the awards ceremony needing to move to a pre-recorded virtual event due to COVID-19 restrictions. To celebrate the awards’ 2020 winners, the Association produced and released an awards video featuring snippets from al l the winning authors and i l lustrators, including a special read of Goat on a Boat by author Nick Dent. In 2020, the former ‘Indigenous Chi ldren’ category was renamed the ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Authored Chi ldren’s Book Award’ and its judging incorporated into the process for the four age-specific categories. This means that a book, written by an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander author, is el igible to win both the age-related category for which it has been nominated and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Authored Chi ldren’s Book Award category. In its seventeenth year, the awards received over 220 nominations. The winners in the awards’ five categories were: • Birth to 3 years: Meerkat Splash | written and i l lustrated by Aura Parker • Three to 5 years: Charl ie’s Shel l | written and i l lustrated by Marina Zlatanova • Five to 8 years: Goat on a Boat | written by Nick Dent and i l lustrated by Suzanne Houghton • Eight to 10 years: The Little Wave | written by Pip Harry • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Authored Chi ldren’s Book Award: My Culture and Me | written and i l lustrated by Gregg Dreise.

Speechie Library Talks launched

Launched in November 2020, the Speechie Library Talks campaign is an initiative of the Association, in col laboration with the Austral ian Library and Information Association. In 2020, over 65 ‘talks’ were del ivered (face-to-face and onl ine), with over 800 parents and chi ldren participating. The aim of the campaign, held in conjunction with the Speech Pathology Austral ia Book of the Year awards, is to connect Speech Pathology Austral ia members with their local l ibrary, and highl ight the role of speech pathologists in language and l iteracy development.

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2020 ANNUAL REPORT Speech Pathology Australia