Policy/advocacy discussion with Speech Pathology Australia

This afternoon I had a long discussion with Dr Nicole McGill, from Speech Pathology Australia about policy/advocacy to support children's communication and solutions for long waiting lists and fragmented services across health/education/disability/private practice. 

Here is some of the evidence that we discussed:

• McLeod, S., Davis, E., Rohr, K., McGill, N., Miller, K., Roberts, A., Thornton, S., Ahio, N., & Ivory, N. (2020). Waiting for speech-language pathology services: A randomised controlled trial comparing therapy, advice and device. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 22(3), 372–386. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2020.1731600 
• McLeod, S., Harrison, L. J., & Wang, C. (2019). A longitudinal population study of literacy and numeracy outcomes for children identified with speech, language, and communication needs in early childhood. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 47, 507–517. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2018.07.004 
• Rvachew, S., & Rafaat, S. (2014). Report on benchmark wait times for pediatric speech sound disorders [Rapport sur les temps d’attente repères pour l’orthophonie pédiatrique]. Canadian Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, 38, 82–96. 
• CSU Provocations Blog: https://provocations.csu.edu.au/communication-is-a-human-right-but-not-everyone-can-communicate-effectively/ 
• CSU Provocations Public Lecture: https://research.csu.edu.au/engage-with-us/provocations; https://youtu.be/pnMRyU5BSOQ?feature=shared
• McLeod, S. (2018). Communication rights: Fundamental human rights for all. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 20(1), 3–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2018.1428687 
• McLeod, S., & Marshall, J. (2023). Communication for all and the Sustainable Development Goals. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 25(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2022.2160494