Sydney National Conference 2017

Featured Presenters

Tuesday 30 May

9.00am – 10.30am

TEU: Elizabeth Usher Memorial Lecture:

How do we change our clinical practice?

In 2016 Speech Pathology Australia ran the 2030 Making Futures Happen Project in which the profession was asked to imagine what and who we would be in that distant future. We were asked to imagine society, technology, climate, economy, education and health in 2030 and to dream up what this could and indeed should look like to speech pathologists and our clients here and elsewhere. In reflecting on where we are going, we were also encouraged to consider where we have come from. For me that particular question caused me to reflect on those courageous individuals who lead change in theory and practice, particularly in the Australian context. This talk follows from the questions that the Making Futures Happen project raises for someone whose professional life is spent contemplating ways to improve our practice, teaching these improvements to the next generation of speech pathologists, and through innovation, education and clinical practice changing the lives of our clients. Through the lens of research and practice in Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS), this talk will examine how change happens in speech pathology practice. Over the past 10 years a number of treatments have emerged which make substantial improvements to the speech of children with CAS. These treatments have one thing in common, they require clinicians to change their current practices, particularly with reference to how frequently they see their clients and how they utilise the principles of motor learning and neuroplasticity to effect change. Some of the ideas addressed will include who makes change happen? Do we change by evolution or by revolution? And why do some clinicians resist change in practice? The facilitators and inhibitors that allow each of us to adopt new practices and to influence the behaviour of those around us will be explored.

Dr Patricia (Tricia) McCabe

Dr Tricia McCabe CPSP is Head of Discipline and Associate Professor in Speech Pathology in the Faculty of Health Sciences at The University of Sydney. From 2010-2016 she was Course Director of the undergraduate degree in speech pathology. Tricia has published more than 60 peer reviewed journal articles, supervised more than 20 research students, and has had $3.6 million in research grants. She has been an accreditor of university speech pathology programs since 2006 and is a member of the management committee of speechBITE. Tricia's research, teaching and clinical practice are all focussed on improving treatments for moderate-severe speech impairments in children and adults. In particular, she has spent much of the past 10 years working to improve treatments for children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech and this has resulted in the two Randomised Control Trials comparing different interventions in this population. With a team of colleagues, research and undergraduate students, and volunteers she has developed the Rapid Syllable Transition Training intervention (ReST), a novel intervention which uses drill practice of non-words to improve the motor planning skills. This treatment has been shown to be effective in face to face and telehealth service delivery. The Ian Potter Foundation has recently funded a free internet based training program for clinicians in ReST and this training will provide many more children with access to this innovative treatment. Tricia is also interested in the application of Evidence Based Practice in speech pathology, service delivery innovations and professional voice user training. She maintains a small private practice in Sydney providing second opinion assessments and treatment to children and adults with speech disorders. Tricia tweets as @tricmc on speech pathology topics and baking.

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