Speech Pathology Week 2014

This week is Speech Pathology Week across Australia.

Communication disorders affect more than you think...

It limits a person’s ability to participate fully in family life, their community, education and profession.

The negative impacts of communication disorders include

• a higher risk of literacy problems;
• lower academic achievement;
• low self esteem;
• poorer health outcomes;
• mental health problems.

Did you know

• Children with a language impairment are 6  times more likely to have a reading problem than children without a language impairment;

• 14% of 15 year olds have only basic literacy skills– that’s almost four students

• in each Year 10 classroom who can’t access their education;

• At least 30% of people post-stroke suffer loss of language (aphasia) – at least 15,000 people in Australia each year;

• 85% of those with Parkinson’s disease have voice, speech and/or swallowing difficulties; 

• At least 13,000 Australians use electronic communication aids to get their message across;

• 46% of young Australian offenders may have a language impairment;

• Indigenous children have three times more hearing problems than non-Indigenous children;

• 44% of adult Australians has non functional literacy. This means 7.3 million adult Australians   has difficulty accessing the day to day information we need to be active and participatory members of our community;

• Three in every 1,000 newborns have hearing loss, which without intervention can affect their speech, language and literacy

  

What can you do

• Check out this video about all the different areas of Speech Pathology, where we work, and the impact on so many people in our community;

• Sign the International Communication Project pledge for a Nation  for Communication;

• Ask a Speech Pathologist to come to your professional group or community or school or kinder group to talk about communication, literacy, swallowing and eating difficulties and disorders. Learn about what you could do to improve the lives of those with communication difficulties and disorders.

Cathy

Cathy Basterfield

Speech Pathologist

Access Easy English

cathy@accesseasyenglish.com.au

0466 579 855

www.accesseasyenglish.com.au

Importance of legal process and legal literacy

View the attached link from the ABC's Victorian 7:30 Report  about people with intellectual disability and their case for fair pay for a fairs day work.  One of the men is reading an Easy English document to help him understand what is happening.

Look out for more details as this class action evolves.

Do you want help to write Easy English information for clients about their legal rights, workplace entitlements and safety.


Contact Cathy

cathy@accesseasyenglish.com.au
0466 579 855
www.accesseasyenglish.com.au

How much do you understand about money?

In Australia, recent discussions have continued around the need to improve the quality of financial planners.  This is in light of a number of high profile cases in the banking and superannuation industry.

Constantly we hear, the financial literacy of our community is low. Therefore the solution always seems to be, to improve the training of the financial  planners, better governance and stronger consumer protection regulation.

However, the longer term solution is cited as improving the financial literacy programs in schools.......

See the article in The Age on 22 July 2014.

mmmmm this may help those students with financial and numeracy skills in 30 -40 - 50 years time when they are at retirement age . This is the age when most people have their largest amount of money, and may  need to talk with a financial planner about their retirement financial plans. 

Why is it always the reader who has the problem?

There is another solution. And it is not a solution that will take 30-40-50 years to show improvement.  What about writing and producing numerical information for the current level of literacy in the community?  Then, individuals can go to a financial planner with a greater understanding of their own finances, and engage with meaningful questions about options. 

Additionally, professionals in the industry, do need to learn to unpack and stop using the lingo of their profession, and talk to the person in a way the person understands. This is in no way restricted to just this industry.

Evidence has shown in the development of insurance information, and even more significantly in medical, technical and IT, emergency, and social areas of life, when information is written at the level the person who is expected to use the information is reading there is 

·         greater persistence to engagement with the material;

·         greater reading;

·         greater understanding;

·         greater change in behaviour.

This use of everyday language, rather than professional or business or corporate language is further beneficial to all industries and businesses, as research has shown there are fewer calls to Call Centres requesting information, fewer angry  and confused customers and greater numbers of return customers. Reason: the customer has a greater understanding of what they have signed up to.

The technique referred to is Easy English.  Cathy Basterfield, who owns and operates Access Easy English, is recognised both nationally and internationally in the original and ongoing development of Easy English. Cathy would be pleased to talk with you further about how to improve the engagement of customers, by improving the written communication between you and your customers.

Cathy

Cathy Basterfield

Access Easy English

Consultant Speech Pathologist

www.accesseasyenglish.com.au

cathy@accessseasyenglish.com.au

0466 579 855