Speak Up

In this week’s episode, SPA’s Senior Advisor Professional Standards, Marie Atherton, speaks with Angie Canning and Justine Slattery, Project Officers for the development of the Practice Guideline: Speech pathology practice in Neonatal Care. They discuss the range of roles of speech pathologists have in Australian NICUs, the transition from problem-based to developmental care models, the range of t...

In this week’s episode, Kim Beesley and Jen Morris, community representatives, from SPA ethics board, speak about AI in health care and in particular, speech pathology practice. As service users Kim and Jen share what they are excited about, and what they would like to feel assured that ethical reasoning is at the centre of any decision making about how and when to use AI. Speech Pathology Austral...

In this week’s episode, Professor Emma Power, from UTS, speaks about AI in speech pathology practice. Emma speaks about the opportunities and considerations that using Generative AI can provide and the ethical considerations that we need to be thinking about. This conversation will continue next week when we hear from consumers about their perceptions of using AI, as well as hearing about the new...

A few times a year we rebroadcast episodes of interest to listeners. This week, we bring you an episode from season 3. Leah Paice, from the Vic Branch Professional Education committee, chats with Dr. Caroline Baker, Research Affiliate at the Aphasia CRE and Research and Clinical Practice Lead in the Speech Pathology Department at Monash Health. Caroline speaks about the mental health consideration...

In this week’s episode we speak with Professor Andrew Whitehouse ahead of his keynote address for the 2024 SPA conference, in Boorloo, Perth. Andrew speaks about some of the things he will cover in his keynote address on May 28th 2024, as well as a discussion about the way speech pathologists can find meaning in their daily work.    Speech Pathology Australia acknowledge the Traditional Custodians...

In this week’s episode, Rosie Miller Advisor from the Professional Standards team discusses the audits that SPA conducts. Rosie clarifies the auditing process and speaks about why this is a process that SPA undertakes. Speech Pathology Australia acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of lands, seas and waters throughout Australia, and pay respect to Elders past, present and future.    We recognise...

In this week’s episode, SPA Early Career Reference Group member, Holly McAlister, speaks with mental health occupational therapist Michelle Bihary about developing skills and capabilities that support us to have courageous conversations. They discuss what early career and experienced professionals bring to the table, self-care, reasonable expectations, principles of emotional intelligence, and how...

In this week’s episode Naomi Folder, who was the project officer for SPA’s newly released practice guideline ‘Working with people with lived experience of dementia’, speaks with Kym Torresi, Senior Advisor, Aged Care. Kym and Naomi speak about the process of developing this guideline, and the important role that speech pathologists can play in supporting people with dementia.    Speech Pathology A...

In this week’s episode Dr Marleen Westerveld speaks with Dr Sonja Brubacher from the Centre for Investigative Interviewing. They discuss how speech pathologists can ask questions that prompt broader and deeper responses, elicit richer communication and narratives, and collect more detailed and accurate health information in a trauma-informed way. Speech Pathology Australia acknowledge the Traditio...

In this week’s episode, SPA’s Jane Delaney speaks with Jane McCormack, Associate Professor at ACU, and Heather Tancredi, PhD candidate at QUT, about speech pathologists’ role in the education sector. They discuss the International Classification of Functioning, the social model of disability, inclusive education, and multi-tiered systems of support. Speech pathologists can learn more about these i...

In this week’s episode we speak with Anna Pannuzzo from WorkPlacePLUS and Trish Johnson, SPA’s manager for ethics and professional issues, about understanding our obligations when someone is leaving a workplace, and entering a new one. Trish and Anna also discuss some considerations of when it is appropriate to start their own practice.    Speech Pathology Australia acknowledge the Traditional Cus...

In this week’s episode we speak with Joni Howell and Sandy Lin, neurodivergent speech pathologists at Superyou Therapy. They discuss how neurodivergent staff are an asset in the workplace, how an organisation’s culture, policies, ways of working, and physical space can be enabling, and how these approaches positively impact service provision. Speech Pathology Australia acknowledge the Traditional...

In this week’s episode, we speak with SPA Life Member Ann Zubrick about learnings from an extraordinary career that includes starting the first speech pathology university programs in Western Australia, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. Ann shares her reflections on postgraduate education, volunteering, dementia and aged care, practice-based evidence, mentoring, and “looking back with thanksgiving, and for...

In this week’s episode we speak with Dr Laura Roche, from the University of Newcastle, about 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, also known as Di George syndrome, or Velocardio-facial syndrome. We discuss this population and how speech pathologists can be involved in supporting individuals with 22q gene deletion.    Speech Pathology Australia acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of lands, seas and waters...

In this week’s episode we speak with Dr. Meredith Prain, a speech pathologist and Deafblindness consultant. She discusses how people and services can support health literacy and inclusion by making web-based, social media, and other digital information accessible. Speech Pathology Australia acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of lands, seas and waters throughout Australia, and pay respect to El...

In this week’s episode we speak with Kelly Ann Peña, Assistant Professor at Rutgers University in the United States. Kelly discusses skills and attributes involved in critical thinking, barriers and enablers to development of this skill, and how supervisors can create an environment that is psychologically safe and facilitates critical thinking in students and other supervisees. Speech Pathology A...

In this week’s episode we speak with two speech pathologists who have had major changes in 2023. Kim took the leap and started her own business, and Jen is just finishing her first year as a graduate speech pathologist. Some of the themes that came up in these interviews were regarding wellbeing, so we have also spoken to Mathew Walter, from Acacia EAP about the challenges of setting professional...

In this week’s episode, we speak with Dr David Azul (they/them) and Dr Sterling Quinn (he/they). They discuss ways that 'minority stress’ can be experienced by trans and gender diverse individuals, and how speech pathologists and institutions can support the inclusion and wellbeing of service users, colleagues, research participants, and others. Resources: World Professional Association for Transg...

This week SPA’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Committee discuss cultural safety in practice. The panel guests are Tara Lewis, an Iman woman, Eddie Ong, an Torres Strait Islander man, Shari Fuller, a Jirrbul woman, Tania Harris a Bundjalung woman, Jessica Russ-Smith a Wiradyuri Wambuul woman and Rachel Doolan a Wiradjuri woman. The panel speak about cultural safety, why this is imp...

This week Libby Brownlie from Key Word Sign Australia (Scope) discusses the advantages of integrating Key Word Sign into your practice. Libby speaks about how KWS can be an excellent addition for a multimodal communicator, and dispels myths around KWS as an AAC option. Resources: Website: https://kwsa.org.au/ KWS resources: https://kwsa.org.au/resources/ and https://kwsa.org.au/shop/ Training: inf...

In this week’s episode, Speak Up Podcast Reference (SUPR) Group member, Christie Feerick, speaks with SPA Professional Standards Team members, Dr Simone Arnott and Dr Marie Atherton. They discuss how universities are accredited, how students are prepared to enter the workforce, and how new grads and workplaces can draw on their knowledge, skills, and attributes. Resources: Accreditation https://ww...

In this week’s episode, SPA’s Senior Advisor Justice, Mary Woodward, has a conversation with Sarah Maybury from New South Wales Youth Justice, Marcella Lau and Dr. Emma Schimke from the Queensland Youth Justice Southwest Regional Community Services, and Melissa Saliba from Communities and Justice in South Australia. They discuss the supports they provide in youth justice systems around Australia....

In this week’s episode, Shaun Ziegenfusz from the DLD project speaks about DLD in school and the importance of prioritising wellbeing supports, especially in school-aged children and teens. Audio transcripts for this and other Season 5 (2023) episodes are available at no cost on SPA’s Learning Hub: https://learninghub.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/speechpathologyaust/speak-up-podcast Check the e...

Speak Up periodically rebroadcasts previous episodes that were of high interest to listeners. This week we are rebroadcasting Season 2’s episode on the National Tour: Working with Australian multilingual children. This workshop is being held again in November 2023 in Adelaide and Darwin. Dr Gayle Hemsley and Dr Alison Holm give a preview of topics they will discuss, including current evidence in t...

To celebrate Global Ethics Day and the theme of ‘ethics empowered’ Dr Rachael O’Brien, Olivia Skala, and Danica Dolton share some of their reflections in their daily work with the SPA ethics team. Speech Pathology Australia acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of lands, seas and waters throughout Australia, and pay respect to Elders past, present and future. We recognise that the health and soci...