In Speech Pathology Week 2018, we call for greater action towards national communication accessibility. This is the message we send with this year’s theme: Communication Access Is Communication for all. Like mobility or wheelchair access, communication access is enabling people with communication disorders to get their message across by removing barriers to effective communication, or [...]
What is it like to have a speech pathology placement in private practice? Great question! This guest blog post was written by a speech pathology student, Sarah El-Wahsh. Sarah completed her final speech pathology placement with us in August 2017. She gives us some great insights into a placement in private practice.... Learning beyond the [...]
Our first pair of speech pathology students - Jaimie and Lizzy - have now finished their placement with Wollongong Speech Pathology. It was a dream having them on board with us. I loved talking to them about clients! It was brilliant to have two extra people involved, giving input into clients' assessment and treatment plans. [...]
Wollongong Speech Pathology is now taking Student Speech Pathologists on clinical placement. Let's talk about why! Benefits to clients: a fresh perspective to therapy programs access to up-to-date evidence & techniques Benefits to the practice: give something back to the profession providing quality clinical opportunities to students Benefits to students: exposure to a wide range [...]
Making a dementia diagnosis is not a straight-forward process. Sometimes it can take years for a firm diagnosis to be made. What does an assessment involve? Dementia diagnosis requires a team approach. As a minimum, assessment will involve: a case history (your GP will ask you questions about your past, your current concerns, what is working [...]
Interview Series: Collaborative practice in the Illawarra Working in private practice, especially out in the community, runs the risk of being isolating. I don't have an office to share with other health professionals. So I miss those important "corridor conversations". Thankfully, working in isolation is not my thing!! It is no fun for me, and not [...]
Speech pathologists work with individuals across the lifespan, from newborn babies to palliative care. As part of a team, we are uniquely trained to assess, diagnose, and treat communication and swallowing disorders. In Australia, all speech pathologists have been trained at a university. For more information, see www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au https://youtu.be/bpy3F9PltAg
Ever stopped to think about the importance of your oral hygiene? That is, how clean is your mouth and teeth? We need good strong teeth to bite and to chew, to shape speech sounds and of course to smile. When we have problems with our mouth and teeth it's bad news - pain, embarrassment, odour, and [...]
Dementia is already the leading cause of disability in Australians aged over 65 years. So we need to find ways to better support the ever-growing number of older Australians with dementia. There is increasing evidence that speech pathology and dementia go together. Speech pathologists can play an important role in dementia-related communication or swallowing problems. Our goal is to [...]
About swallowing and aged care Up to 60% of people in nursing homes have problems swallowing (known as "Dysphagia"). This is because swallowing problems are a symptom of illnesses that occur later in life, eg dementia. Read on to learn more about swallowing and aged care. What does Dysphagia look like? You may notice a person having trouble [...]
