Bathurst speech pathologists' dinner

 It is always such fun to meet with my local Bathurst speech pathologists. Last night we met for dinner at a local restaurant.

 

It was lovely to 

• meet new graduate speech pathologists who have moved to Bathurst from studying at Australian Catholic University
• reconnect with members of the Waiting for Speech Pathology NSW Translational Research Grant team: Emily Davis, Sally Thornton (Dubbo) and Angela Roberts
• meet new babies
• say hello to many friends and hear about what they are doing. 

Waiting for Speech Pathology team: Sharynne, Emily Davis, Sally Thornton, Angela Roberts 

Here are some of the things we created as part of the Waiting for Speech Pathology NSW Translational Research Grant:

Website: https://www.nsw.gov.au/departments-and-agencies/wnswlhd/services/speech-pathology

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 

Sharynne  and Emily Davis

Bathurst speech pathologists (verbal permission was given to include everyone including babies on my blog)

 

Invited paper accepted for publication in Portuguese Journal of Speech and Language Therapy

We have just had the following invited paper accepted for publication in the Portuguese Journal of Speech and Language Therapy: 

McLeod, S., Blake, H. L. & Margetson, K. (2024, in press). Enhancing children’s speech using international evidence-based resources. RPTF - Revista Portuguesa de Terapia da Fala [Portuguese Journal of Speech and Language Therapy] https://www.aptf-rptf.com/

 It is wonderful to continue our collaborations with our colleagues in Portugal: https://speakingmylanguages.blogspot.com/search/label/Portuguese

 

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

Waiting for Speech Pathology - Summary of publications and websites

Frequently Nicole McGill and I are asked for copies of the work we have undertaken about waiting for speech pathology. Here is a summary Nicole sent recently: 

1. • McGill, N., Crowe, K., & McLeod, S. (2020). “Many wasted months”: Stakeholders’ perspectives about waiting for speech-language pathology services. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 22(3), 313-326. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2020.1747541 
2. • McGill, N., & McLeod, S. (2019). Aspirations for a website to support families’ active waiting for speech-language pathology. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 21(3), 263-274. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2019.1604802 
3. • McGill, N., & McLeod, S. (2020). Waiting list management in speech-language pathology: Translating research to practice. Speech, Language and Hearing, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2050571X.2020.1716471
4. • McGill, N., McLeod, S., Crowe, K., Wang, C., & Hopf, S. C. (2021). Waiting lists and prioritization of children for services: Speech-language pathologists’ perspectives. Journal of Communication Disorders, 91, 106099. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2021.106099 
5. • McGill, N., McLeod, S., & Hopf, S. C. (2021). Waiting list management: Professionals’ perspectives and innovations. Advances in Communication and Swallowing, 24(1), 5-19. https://doi.org/10.3233/ACS-210026 
6. o There is also a recorded online lecture relating to this paper, available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8FO1t1Rrfs 
7. • McGill, N., McLeod, S., Ivory, N., Davis, E., & Rohr, K. (2021). Randomised controlled trial evaluating active versus passive waiting for speech-language pathology. Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica, 73(4), 335-354.https://doi.org/10.1159/000508830 
8. • 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 
9. The Waiting for Speech Pathology website referred to in the articles can be accessed here: https://www.nsw.gov.au/health/wnswlhd/services/speech-pathology 
10. A waiting list management self-paced learning program that is available on the Speech Pathology Australia Learning Hub: https://learninghub.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/speechpathologyaust/1706-waiting-list-management-in-speech-pathology 

Vice Chancellor's Award Dinner

On Thursday 23rd February, the CSU Vice-Chancellor presented the following awards. Our team was well represented.

Researcher/Research Team of the Year
An award for outstanding research with outcomes extending beyond the University and commendation awards for a researcher/research team from each Faculty.

Faculty of Arts and Education: Professor Sharynne McLeod
Faculty of Business: Dr Ashad Kabir
Faculty of Science and Health: Professor Chris Blanchard
Overall winner: Professor Chris Blanchard

Higher Degree by Research Thesis of the Year
An award for outstanding research undertaken by an HDR student and commendation awards for an HDR student from each Faculty.

Faculty of Arts and Education: Dr Van Tran
Faculty of Business: Dr Scott McManus
Faculty of Science and Health: Dr Helenna Mihailou
Overall winner: Dr Van Tran

Excellence in HDR Supervision - Professor Chris Blanchard
An award for outstanding supervision of Higher Degree Research students.

Research Excellence through Partnership
An award recognising the importance of university researchers initiating, developing, and managing high quality research partnerships with community, industry or international partners.
Winner: Waiting for Speech Pathology Team - Professor Sharynne McLeod, Dr Nicole McGill, Dr Kathryn Crowe, Dr Suzanne Hopf, Dr Cen (Audrey) Wang, and Dr Nicola Ivory

Teaching Scholar of the Year - Dr Nicole Sugden, School of Psychology, Faculty of Business, Justice and Behavioural Sciences
An award for a teaching focused academic (including casual staff) engaged in high quality "scholarship informed" teaching practice.

Excellence as an Early Career Researcher
An award for outstanding research undertaken by an early career researcher and commendation awards for a researcher from each Faculty.

Faculty of Arts and Education: Dr Jane Garner
Faculty of Business: Dr Tyson Whitten
Faculty of Science and Health: Dr Nidhish Francis
Overall joint winners: Dr Nidhish Francis and Dr Jane Garner

 

Research Excellence through Partnership

Researcher of the Year: Faculty of Arts and Education

Higher Degree by Research Thesis of the Year

 

CSU FOAE Researcher of the Year; Research Excellence through Partnership; AND Research Thesis of the Year

I received this welcome email thils morning:

"The Charles Sturt Research Awards Panel has completed its deliberations and we are delighted to inform you that you have been awarded both the 

Faculty of Arts and Education Researcher of the Year and the 

Research Excellence through Partnership prizes. 

Many congratulations for your fantastic contribution to the University! We would like to invite you to the Research Awards Dinner on 23rd February 2023 to receive the awards from the Vice Chancellor.

Professor Mark Evans (Chair) on behalf of the Awards Committee

Shortly afterwards our PhD student received this email: 

Dear Dr Van Tran, The Charles Sturt Research Awards Panel has completed its deliberations and we are delighted to inform you that you have been awarded both the

Faculty of Arts and Education Higher Degree by Research Thesis of the Year prize and the

joint winner of the overall Charles Sturt Research Thesis of the Year prize

This is an award for outstanding research undertaken by an HDR student.

Many congratulations for your fantastic contribution to the University! We would like to invite you to the Research Awards Dinner on 23rd February 2023 to receive the awards from the Vice Chancellor.

Professor Mark Evans (Chair) on behalf of the Awards Committee

Dr Van Tran receiving her PhD at graduation in August 2022

Subject:	Vice-Chancellor's 2022 Research Excellence Awards
Date:	07-DEC-22
Subject:	Vice-Chancellor's 2022 Research Excellence Awards
Message:	The Charles Sturt Research Awards Panel has completed its deliberations and have recommended the following award winners to the Vice Chancellor: Teaching Scholar of the Year - Dr Nicole Sugden, School of Psychology, Faculty of Business, Justice and Behavioural Sciences An award for a teaching focused academic (including casual staff) engaged in high quality "scholarship informed" teaching practice. Researcher/Research Team of the Year An award for outstanding research with outcomes extending beyond the University and commendation awards for a researcher/research team from each Faculty. Faculty of Arts and Education: Professor Sharynne McLeod Faculty of Business: Dr Ashad Kabir Faculty of Science and Health: Professor Chris Blanchard Overall winner: Professor Chris Blanchard Excellence as an Early Career Researcher An award for outstanding research undertaken by an early career researcher and commendation awards for a researcher from each Faculty. Faculty of Arts and Education: Dr Jane Garner Faculty of Business: Dr Tyson Whitten Faculty of Science and Health: Dr Nidhish Francis Overall joint winners: Dr Nidhish Francis and Dr Jane Garner Higher Degree by Research Thesis of the Year An award for outstanding research undertaken by an HDR student and commendation awards for an HDR student from each Faculty. Faculty of Arts and Education: Dr Van Tran Faculty of Business: Dr Scott McManus Faculty of Science and Health: Dr Helenna Mihailou Overall winner: Dr Van Tran Excellence in HDR Supervision - Professor Chris Blanchard An award for outstanding supervision of Higher Degree Research students. Research Excellence through Partnership An award recognising the importance of university researchers initiating, developing, and managing high quality research partnerships with community, industry or international partners. Winner: Waiting for Speech Pathology Team - Professor Sharynne McLeod, Dr Nicole McGill, Dr Kathryn Crowe, Dr Suzanne Hopf, Dr Cen (Audrey) Wang, and Dr Nicola Ivory Award winners will receive their awards from the Vice Chancellor at the Research Awards Dinner on 23rd February 2023. Details will follow. The Awards Dinner was postponed to the new year due to the impact of the NSW floods. Please join me in congratulating the award winners. Mark Evans, DVCR

Invited Lecture: Advances in Communication and Swallowing Journal

Nicole McGill and I presented the Autumn Lecture for the journal Advances in Communication and Swallowing based on our program of work about waiting for speech pathology.

Title: Waiting list management in speech and language therapy services: Perspectives and innovations 

Presenters: Dr Nicole McGill1 & Prof Sharynne McLeod1 

Additional team members: Kathryn Crowe1,2, Suzanne C. Hopf1, Audrey Wang1, Nicola Ivory1, Emily Davis3, Katrina Rohr3, Angela Roberts3, Katherine Miller3, Sally Thornton3, & Nina Ahio3 

1. Charles Sturt University, Australia; 
2. University of Iceland, Iceland; 
3. Western New South Wales Local Health District, Australia 

Abstract: Waiting lists for speech and language therapy exist when supply does not meet demand. Waiting for services reduces service users’ access to early intervention and poses practical and ethical challenges for professionals to manage. This presentation will provide an overview of an extensive programme of research that explored: (a) perspectives of service users and professionals regarding speech and language therapy waiting lists; (b) speech and language therapists’ waiting list management practices throughout the world; (c) the design and development of an evidence-based website; and (d) the evaluation of the Waiting for Speech Pathology website in two community-based randomised controlled trials. Innovative management strategies will be presented. This research about waiting for speech and language therapy was published in the inaugural issue of Advances in Communication and Swallowing (Waiting list management: Professionals’ perspectives and innovations) and in other journals across the world. Free resources are available on the Waiting for Speech Pathology website: https://wnswlhd.health.nsw.gov.au/our-services/speech-pathology/ 

Acknowledgments: New South Wales Health Translational Research Grant and Charles Sturt University, Australia 

Link to the recording:https://www.iospress.com/catalog/journals/advances-in-communication-and-swallowing#extra 

YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8FO1t1Rrfs

Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/advances-in-communication-and-swallowing-autumn-2022-online-lecture-event-tickets-412156781027

Online handout: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1cZ08ZqPbz8Je1A50FhQaghAa1SjZax8G?usp=sharing 

The papers that have been written to describe this work are listed below.

1. McGill, N., McLeod, S., & Hopf, S. C. (2021). Waiting list management: Professionals’ perspectives and innovations. Advances in Communication and Swallowing, 24, 5-19. https://doi.org/10.3233/ACS-210026 
2. McGill, N., Crowe, K., & McLeod, S. (2020). “Many wasted months”: Stakeholders’ perspectives about waiting for speech-language pathology services. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 22(3), 313–326. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2020.1747541 
3. McGill, N., & McLeod, S. (2019). Aspirations for a website to support families’ active waiting for speech-language pathology. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 21(3), 263–274. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2019.1604802 
4. McGill, N., & McLeod, S. (2020). Waiting list management in speech-language pathology: Translating research to practice. Speech, Language and Hearing, 23(1), 2–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/2050571X.2020.1716471 
5.  McGill, N., McLeod, S., Crowe, K., Wang, C., & Hopf, S. C. (2021). Waiting lists and prioritization of children for services: Speech-language pathologists’ perspectives. Journal of Communication Disorders, 91, 106099. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2021.106099 
6. McGill, N., McLeod, S., Ivory, N., Davis, E., & Rohr, K. (2021). Randomised controlled trial evaluating active versus passive waiting for speech-language pathology. Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica, 73(4), 335-354. https://doi.org/10.1159/000508830 
7.  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

McGill, Crowe & McLeod (2020) was the most cited article in IJSLP in the past 3 years

 

Invitation to present the Autumn Lecture for Advances in Communication and Swallowing

I have been invited to present the Autumn Lecture for Advances in Communication and Swallowing based on our paper: Waiting list management: Professionals’ perspectives and innovations. Dr Nicole McGill is the first author of this paper, and worked with our team from Charles Sturt University to undertake a program of research about waiting lists. Our team includes: Dr Suzanne Hopf, Dr Kate Crowe, and Dr Cen (Audrey) Wang. I proposed that Nicole led the presentation and we summarised what we have learned about waiting lists from all of our research, focussing on the paper published Advances in Communication and Swallowing. What an exciting opportunity to share our work and potential strategies and solutions for managing speech and language therapy waiting lists.

The Spring Lecture for Advances in Communication and Swallowing was held in April with our Editorial Member, Prof Shaun O Keeffe (et al.) presenting their prize-winning paper on aspiration risk and risk feeding. Text about the spring lecture is on the journal page: https://www.iospress.com/catalog/journals/advances-in-communication-and-swallowing#extra and The video of the event is now online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSboOXREQ8k 

The papers that have been written to describe this work are listed below. We also developed a website with colleagues from NSW Health: https://wnswlhd.health.nsw.gov.au/our-services/speech-pathology/ 

1. McGill, N., McLeod, S., & Hopf, S. C. (2021). Waiting list management: Professionals’ perspectives and innovations. Advances in Communication and Swallowing, 24, 5-19. https://doi.org/10.3233/ACS-210026 
2. McGill, N., Crowe, K., & McLeod, S. (2020). “Many wasted months”: Stakeholders’ perspectives about waiting for speech-language pathology services. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 22(3), 313–326. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2020.1747541 
3. McGill, N., & McLeod, S. (2019). Aspirations for a website to support families’ active waiting for speech-language pathology. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 21(3), 263–274. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2019.1604802 
4. McGill, N., & McLeod, S. (2020). Waiting list management in speech-language pathology: Translating research to practice. Speech, Language and Hearing, 23(1), 2–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/2050571X.2020.1716471 
5.  McGill, N., McLeod, S., Crowe, K., Wang, C., & Hopf, S. C. (2021). Waiting lists and prioritization of children for services: Speech-language pathologists’ perspectives. Journal of Communication Disorders, 91, 106099. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2021.106099 
6. McGill, N., McLeod, S., Ivory, N., Davis, E., & Rohr, K. (2021). Randomised controlled trial evaluating active versus passive waiting for speech-language pathology. Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica, 73(4), 335-354. https://doi.org/10.1159/000508830 
7.  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

Welcome to Bathurst

Dr Nicola Ivory worked with us on our Waiting for Speech Pathology grant as well as in the establishment of the Early Childhood Research Group and Early Childhood Voices 2020 conference. She has just commenced a new full time permanent role as a lecturer in psychology at Charles Sturt University on the Bathurst campus. I am so pleased. We had a lovely time discussing her new role, research plans, and enjoying Machattie Park in her new home town. Welcome Nicola!

Sharynne and Nicola in Machattie Park

Waiting for Speech Pathology website - January data

We just received data for our Waiting for Speech Pathology website (https://wnswlhd.health.nsw.gov.au/our-services/speech-pathology) for January (while Australia is on summer holidays). The most popular page was: https://wnswlhd.health.nsw.gov.au/our-services/speech-pathology/childrens-speech

There was still quite a lot of access:

• 920 hits
• 548 page views
• 131 new users
• 258 users
  
• 144 downloads of resources
• States accessing the site: Capital Region, South Australia, County Dublin, Tasmania, Missouri, Victoria, Northern Territory, Western, Australia, Maharashtra, New South Wales, Queensland, Australian Capital Territory, Alberta, Zurich, Connecticut, Nova Scotia, Ontario, England, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Bay of Plenty, California, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Canterbury, Telangana, Western Region, Casablanca-Settat

Speech Pathology Australia course based on Dr Nicole McGill's research

Congratulations to Dr Nicole McGill who has worked with Speech Pathology Australia to create a 3-hour online professional development course that will increase the impact and uptake of her research:

Dr Nicole McGill: Waiting list management in speech pathology https://learninghub.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/speechpathologyaust/1706-waiting-list-management-in-speech-pathology 

Program Overview This online learning program provides an overview of waiting lists and strategies used in waiting list management. This program introduces a systematic and holistic approach to waiting list management involving mapping of care pathways. Considerations for the selection and evaluation of waiting list management strategies will be discussed for application in clinical practice. 

 Learning objectives Upon successful completion of the program, participants will be able to 

• identify key characteristics and consequences of waiting lists in speech pathology, 
• map care pathways within the workplace, 
• review waiting list management strategies with reference to four sources of evidence, 
• identify methods for rigorously evaluating a waiting list management strategy in the workplace.

Waiting for Speech Pathology Website - Google Analytics Report

Our Waiting for Speech Pathology Website (https://wnswlhd.health.nsw.gov.au/our-services/speech-pathology) is still quite popular. 

We received our Google Analytics Report for August today. 

• Page views during August 2021 = 2,434
• Downloads during August 2021 = 480
  

Previous results: 

• Oct 2019-June 2021 = 20,126 page views (15,271 unique page views) 
• July, August, September 2019 = 1,033 hits 

Today the Multilingual Resources pages have been uploaded: https://wnswlhd.health.nsw.gov.au/our-services/speech-pathology/Multilingual-Resources. There is information in the following languages:

• Visiting a sp​eech pathologist: what to expect? Farsi: فارسی, Burmese: ဗမာ​ , Swahili Kiswahili, Arabic: العربية , Dari: داری ,  Nepali: नेपाली 
• Learning about books and print: English, Farsi فارسی , Burmese ဗမာ, Swahili Kiswahili , Arabic العربية, Dari داری , Tamil தமிழ், Nepali नेपाली 

Burmese: Visiting a speech pathologist - what to expect

 

Advances in Communication and Swallowing - first articles

We are very proud that our paper is one of the first to be online in the journal Advances in Communication and Swallowing and look forward to their publication of their first issue: 

McGill, N., McLeod, S., & Hopf, S. C. (2021). Waiting list management: Professionals’ perspectives and innovations. Advances in Communication and Swallowing, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.3233/ACS-210026

Waiting list management: Professionals’ perspectives and innovations

The following paper was accepted for publication today. It is the final paper to be accepted from Dr Nicole's PhD:

McGill, N., McLeod, S., & Hopf, S. C. (2021, in press August). Waiting list management: Professionals’ perspectives and innovations. Advances in Communication and Swallowing.

Here is the abstract:

BACKGROUND: Waiting lists for speech and language therapy exist when services do not meet demand. Waiting lists pose practical and ethical challenges for speech and language therapists (SLTs) and workplaces to manage, with potential flow on effects for children and families. 

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to describe SLTs’ perspectives about waiting lists for children with speech, language, and communication needs (SLCN) and explore waiting list management strategies. 

METHODS: The present study reports on 187 SLTs’ written responses to open-ended questions in a questionnaire. SLTs were from nine countries, had an average of 12 years’ experience in the profession (range 0.2-45 years), and either currently or had previously worked with children. Data were analysed qualitatively using thematic analysis. 

RESULTS: SLTs’ feelings about their waiting lists centred on three themes: (1) negative (e.g., “overwhelmed”, “stressed”, “anxious”, “embarrassed”); (2) neutral (e.g., “not too bad”, “okay”); and (3) positive (e.g., “manageable”, “proud”). Four themes related to waiting list management: (1) SLT service delivery (e.g., triage, use of technology in service provision); (2) workplace processes and policies (e.g., eligibility criteria, prioritisation); (3) SLT workforce actions (e.g., recruitment and retention of skilled SLTs); and (4) inaction (e.g., waiting list management was “out of my hands”). 

CONCLUSIONS: Waiting lists can have negative consequences and many SLTs take action to manage waiting lists; however, waiting list management strategies are not necessarily effective which can impact children’s outcomes. There is a need to reimagine service delivery and identify effective actions for managing speech and language therapy waiting lists at a local and systemic level in order to optimise outcomes for children and families.

ABC News: Chronic shortage of speech therapists

Last week ABC News published the following article that included the reserach from Dr Nicole McGill's PhD: Chronic shortage of speech therapists: Children with language delays at risk academically, socially https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-16/lengthy-speech-therapy-waitlists-leave-children-vulnerable/100292818 

Nicole was then quoted and interviewed on ABC Regional Riff  (broadcast throughout Victoria) along with SPA’s president Tim Kittel. Nicole's segment on the Regional Riff starts at 48:00 minutes. https://www.abc.net.au/radio/goulburnmurray/programs/breakfast/breakfast/13442194 

Congratulations Nicole! It is wonderful that your important messages are being broadcast across Australia.

 

Waiting for Speech Pathology website

The Waiting for Speech Pathology website has new pages: 

• Stuttering 
• Voice 
• Paediatric Feeding 

The original pages addressed: 

• Children's Speech 
• Language 
• Literacy 
• Visiting a Speech Pathologist 

 https://wnswlhd.health.nsw.gov.au/our-services/speech-pathology

Congratulations Emily Davis, Katrina Rohr and team. It is so exciting to see the evolution of this website from our NSW Health grant and Nicole McGill's PhD

Waiting lists and prioritization of children for services: Speech-language pathologists’ perspectives

The following paper has just been accepted: 

McGill, N., McLeod, S., Crowe, K., Wang, C., & Hopf, S. H.  (2021, in press March). Waiting lists and prioritization of children for services: Speech-language pathologists’ perspectives. Journal of Communication Disorders. 

It is the second last paper to be published from Nicole McGill's PhD (Congratulations Nicole). 

Here is the abstract 

Background: Waiting lists occur when the availability of speech-language pathology services does not meet the demand. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) commonly manage waiting lists and their consequences using prioritization. 

Aims: The aims of this study were to: (1) describe speech-language pathology waiting lists for children and factors associated with their presence in workplaces throughout the world, and (2) describe factors considered in and influencing SLPs’ prioritization of children for services. 

Methods: A questionnaire about pediatric waiting lists and prioritization was completed by 267 SLPs from 10 countries working in health, disability, education, and private sectors. Valid responses to closed questions from 264 SLPs were analyzed quantitatively. 

Results: Most (73.6%) SLPs reported having a waiting list in their workplace. Waiting lists were most common in community health centres (97.4%). Waiting times ranged from 0-42 months (M = 8.09, SD = 5.84). High priority was assigned to infants (77.4%), toddlers (65.3%), children with feeding difficulties (88.5%), and children who stutter (47.4%). Prioritization parameters ranked as most important were: severity (M = 4.34), availability of resources (M = 4.11), diagnosis (M = 4.04), and age (M = 3.91). 

Conclusions: Many workplaces have long waiting lists for speech-language pathology services. Young children, feeding, and stuttering were most often considered high priority; however, prioritization can be complex, implicit, and influenced by external factors. Collaborative development of explicit, transparent waiting list and prioritization guidelines within workplaces, and the development and evaluation of active waiting strategies for children and families are recommended.

Supporting children with speech sound disorders during COVID-19 restrictions: Technological solutions

Our manuscript has been published online:

McLeod, S., Ballard, K. J., Ahmed, B., McGill, N., & Brown, M. I. (2020). Supporting children with speech sound disorders during COVID-19 restrictions: Technological solutions. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/doi:10.1044/2020_PERSP-20-00128

Here is the abstract:

“Children are the hidden victims of the COVID-19 pandemic” (United Nations Children's Fund, 2020). Timely and effective speech intervention is important to reduce the impact on children's school achievement, ability to make friends, mental health, future life opportunities, and government resources. Prior to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, many Australian children did not receive sufficient speech-language pathology (SLP) services due to long waiting lists in the public health system. COVID-19 restrictions exacerbated this issue, as even children who were at the top of lengthy SLP waiting lists often received limited services, particularly in rural areas. To facilitate children receiving speech intervention remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, evidence from randomized controlled trials regarding three technological solutions are examined: (a) Phoneme Factory Sound Sorter (Sound Start Study), (b) Waiting for Speech Pathology website, and (c) Apraxia World. 

Conclusions For the first two technological solutions, there were similar gains in speech production between the intervention and control groups, whereas, for the third solution, the average magnitude of treatment effect was comparable to face-to-face SLP therapy. Automated therapy management systems may be able to accelerate speech development and support communication resilience to counteract the effects of the COVID-19 restrictions on children with speech sound disorders. Technology-based strategies may also provide a potential solution to the chronic shortage of SLP services in rural areas into the future.

Health Research and Innovation Award from NSW Health (Western NSW LHD)

Today Emily Davis learned that we were awarded the Health Research and Innovation Award from NSW Health - Western NSW Local Health District for our research "Waiting for Speech Pathology: Advice vs Device". Congratulations to the official team on the grant: Emily Davis (Bathurst), Sharynne McLeod (CSU), Katrina Rohr (Bathurst), Angela Roberts (Bathurst), Nicole McGill (CSU), and Katherine Miller (Dubbo) and the rest of the team Sally Thornton (Dubbo), Nina Aiho (Dubbo), Nicola Ivory (CSU), Cen(Audrey) Wang (CSU), Chris Ferrito (Bathurst), and Louise McMurtrie (Bathurst).

Katrina and Emily accepted the award in Orange at the 2020 WNSWLHD Living Quality & Safety Awards.

Here is the citation:

Waiting for Speech Pathology: Advice or Device brought together a collaboration of speech pathologists from Bathurst and Dubbo, and Charles Sturt University to provide web content of free, evidence-based resources to support families during the time they were waiting for access to face-to-face speech pathology for their child. Since becoming available, the web content has been accessed more than 14,500 times.

The nomination included the following information "the website has been accessed 14,419 times across 90 countries/regions. The website has been widely viewed during the COVID pandemic, with almost half of website hits from NSW occurring from March – June 2020 (4669 of 9542 hits).”

Katrina Rohr and Emily Davis receiving the award at the
2020 WNSWLHD Living Quality & Safety Awards

Emily Davis and Sharynne McLeod

This blog link shares the research journey of our team and acknowledges all who have been involved: https://speakingmylanguages.blogspot.com/search/label/NSWHealthTRGS

This award is part of the following scheme: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/innovation/Pages/default.aspx

Supporting children with speech sound disorders during COVID-19 restrictions: Technological solutions

The following manuscript has just been accepted for publication 

McLeod, S., Ballard, K., Ahmed, B., McGill, N. & Brown, M. I. (2020, in press August). Supporting children with speech sound disorders during COVID-19 restrictions: Technological solutions. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups (SIG17: Global issues in Communication Sciences and Related Disorders).

Here is the abstract: 

“Children are the hidden victims of the COVID-19 pandemic” (UNICEF, 2020). Timely and effective speech intervention is important to reduce the impact on children’s school achievement, ability to make friends, mental health, future life opportunities, and government resources. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, many Australian children did not receive sufficient speech-language pathology (SLP) services due to long waiting lists in the public health system. COVID-19 restrictions exacerbated this issue, as even children who were at the top of lengthy SLP waiting lists often received limited services, particularly in rural areas. To facilitate children receiving speech intervention remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic evidence from randomized controlled trials regarding three technological solutions are examined: (1) Sound Start Study (Phoneme Factory Sound Sorter), (2) Waiting for Speech Pathology website, and (3) Apraxia World. For the first two technological solutions, there were similar gains in speech production between the intervention and control groups; whereas, for the third solution the average magnitude of treatment effect was comparable to face-to-face SLP therapy. Automated therapy management systems may be able to accelerate speech development and support communication resilience to counteract the effects of the COVID-19 restrictions on children with speech sound disorders. Technology-based strategies may also provide a potential solution to the chronic shortage of SLP services in rural areas into the future.