Have you ever used the Nuffield program for Childh Have you ever used the Nuffield program for Childhood Apraxia or Speech?

We’re working on quiet plosives in CV and VC positions. I love that the program contains four cards for each word!

I’m also using @bjoremspeech cards to cue for the /p/ sound.

The reinforcer activity was to give felt pieces that then make a tangram picture!

#apraxiaofspeech #speechpathologist #childhoodapraxiaofspeech #slpa #speechtherapy #apraxiakids #adventuresinspeechpathology
This page always gets a lot of laughs!!! Using th This page always gets a lot of laughs!!!

Using the metaphor of “tail sounds” is such a fun way to talk about final consonant deletion with your kids ❤️

#adventuresinspeechpathology #speechpathology #speechtherapy #slp #slpeeps #phonology #minimalpairs
First therapy session for /r/. No, I did not focu First therapy session for /r/.

No, I did not focus on isolation.

I found words that the child COULD SAY correctly, and practiced those 🙌🏻

Can you see any patterns of where they are most accurate?

#articulation #speechtherapy #adventuresinspeechpathology #speechsounddisorders #articulationdelay
Love being able to SEE how much we have practiced, Love being able to SEE how much we have practiced, and what words the child can say correctly!

ALSO... THIS PAGE IS 100 TRIALS 🥳

Which means it’s one of my favourite pages to send for home practice!

#speechtherapyactivities #speechtherapy #slp #slpa #slpeeps #articulation #articulationtherapy
Simple therapy activity. You don’t need to be re Simple therapy activity. You don’t need to be really fun.

🥳 Just be fun enough! 🥳

We used a simple dinosaur mouth to practice our words. He was engaged, and we got 13 practices in a minute 🙌🏻That’s all that matters!!

Please don’t think that you need every fancy toy! Simple activities can be so effective.

FYI: two weeks ago I taught this little one /kl/ and /gl/ blends and they have generalised to final position!!! 💪🏻💪🏻

#articulationtherapy #Speechtherapy #Speechsounddisorders #spla #slpeeps #speechsounds #Adventuresinspeechpathology
Cues and syllables. At around the age of 4, I real Cues and syllables. At around the age of 4, I really like to check those early phonological awareness skills, especially for those kids who have been seeing me for a little while due to a severe speech sound delay.

Many of my kids show weak syllable deletion, difficulties perceiving and identifying sounds, or just lack awareness of “syllableness”.

While I love to use the body to clap and tap the syllables in words, I also little to use real objects to represent the “beats”. With this little one, I use Cued Articulation gestures to help them “see” the sounds.

What’s your fave thing to use to work on beats?

#articulation #phonologicalawareness #preschoolslp #speechsounddisorders #Adventuresinspeechpathology
Any guesses what this is?? I am LOVING making new Any guesses what this is??

I am LOVING making new metaphors for speech patterns and substitutions that you see in your caseload.

I think I have 5 new Minimal Pair Toolkits that I’m halfway through 🤗 it’s been so fun to get back to creating (vs. attending meetings, replying to emails and fixing problems 😅).

#minimalpairs #speechtherapy #phonology #articulation #slpsontpt
I saw a psychologist yesterday! And I was excited I saw a psychologist yesterday!

And I was excited. I have ups and downs. High expectations of myself. Difficulties balancing being a mum, SLP, wife and small business owner.

I have mum guilt. I’m stressed. I love working... maybe too much.

Anyway. It’s okay to admit that you need someone to help ❤️

FYI: before you ask, my jumper is from @beetheslp

#adventuresinspeechpathology #itsokaynottobeokay
Why do the SLOW way when you can make BIG CHANGES Why do the SLOW way when you can make BIG CHANGES and maybe have a child in and out of your door in three sessions?

👉🏻 I posted this last year, but I want to remind you all again!

So it might not always go like this, but for some kids, it is literally like you flicked a switch and their sound system almost instantly goes, “ohhhhhh.... L and W are different sounds so I should be saying them differently”. With this little example, I DID have to give placement cues in my first session as he wasn’t stimulable for /l/. And you’re allowed to!

But I stuck to my guns with the minimal pairs approach to help him understand that he has to contrast the sounds so that they make sense to people like me ☺️ At the end of the day, we shouldn’t be keeping our kids longer in therapy than they need to. Choosing an approach that thinks ‘big picture’ and can make big changes can speed up how long they’re on your caseload.

#phonology #speechtherapy #slp #preschoolslp #ashaweb #slp2b #speechlanguagepathology #slpeeps #schoolslp #slpbloggers #speechies #adventuresinspeechpathology
One set of cards, one type of gesture, one special One set of cards, one type of gesture, one special trick that you learned WILL NOT WORK for every child!!!

I get asked a lot what I’d do for kids who can’t say /k/, /r/, or a frontal lisp.

And it’s different every time, because what my kids do is different!

So don’t keep using the same cue and wondering why it isn’t working. Try DIFFERENT visuals, see how metaphors, orthographic and pragmatic cues work.

Try a mirror, give phonetic placement cues, facilitate using vowels, and trial the sound in different positions including clusters!

Your bag of tricks need to be BIG!

#articulationtherapy #slpa #slpgradstudent #speechsounddisorders #slpeeps #slpsofinstagram #slpbloggers #articulation #speechsounds #adventuresinspeechpathology
Have you ever used the Nuffield program for Childh Have you ever used the Nuffield program for Childhood Apraxia or Speech?

We’re working on quiet plosives in CV and VC positions. I love that the program contains four cards for each word!

I’m also using @bjoremspeech cards to cue for the /p/ sound.

The reinforcer activity was to give felt pieces that then make a tangram picture!

#apraxiaofspeech #speechpathologist #childhoodapraxiaofspeech #slpa #speechtherapy #apraxiakids #adventuresinspeechpathology
This page always gets a lot of laughs!!! Using th This page always gets a lot of laughs!!!

Using the metaphor of “tail sounds” is such a fun way to talk about final consonant deletion with your kids ❤️

#adventuresinspeechpathology #speechpathology #speechtherapy #slp #slpeeps #phonology #minimalpairs
First therapy session for /r/. No, I did not focu First therapy session for /r/.

No, I did not focus on isolation.

I found words that the child COULD SAY correctly, and practiced those 🙌🏻

Can you see any patterns of where they are most accurate?

#articulation #speechtherapy #adventuresinspeechpathology #speechsounddisorders #articulationdelay
Love being able to SEE how much we have practiced, Love being able to SEE how much we have practiced, and what words the child can say correctly!

ALSO... THIS PAGE IS 100 TRIALS 🥳

Which means it’s one of my favourite pages to send for home practice!

#speechtherapyactivities #speechtherapy #slp #slpa #slpeeps #articulation #articulationtherapy
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Adventures in Speech Pathology

Feel confident treating speech sound disorders

Working Overseas · September 21, 2017

Being an SLP: An Aussie Perspective

International students seem to have a thing for Australia. Back when I was studying, my Master’s program was one-fifth North American and it brought an interesting mix of perspectives and peanut and jelly sandwiches to the program. So if you’re thinking of chucking it all in, doing the move and adding “G’day” into your everyday lingo, here are some things to know about what being an SLP in ‘Straya is like.

What is the profession called where you live? Speech-Language Pathologist or SLP, but Aussie’s love shortening every word and throwing and ‘ie’ on then end of everything so a lot of us would call ourselves a ‘speechie’.
How long is the average degree for Speech Pathology? Most degrees are four years, although you can do a three year undergraduate in a related field and a two year Masters degree in Speech Pathology. Quite a few Masters degrees have sprung up around Australia in recent years, so it’s definitely on the rise. I was really lucky that I completed my Master’s degree as it was a requirement for working in the US. I also know that a lot of International students come to Australia to complete their Masters degree as it can be less expensive and less competitive to get in.
How do you get certified to be a Speech Pathologist? As well as completing your coursework, meeting the minimum Competency Based Occupational Standards for your clinical work is essential.  If you don’t meet the clinical entry-level standards, you might have to complete some extra placements. You typically have to submit a body of work showing that you are well-rounded in all clinical areas of speech pathology (e.g. dysphagia, voice, stuttering, language, speech) and may have a verbal case presentation with a panel of speech pathologists.
What acronyms do you use after being certified? CPSP (Certified Practising Speech Pathologist), though this is only if you join Speech Pathology Australia and demonstrate a commitment to professional development, which is not currently mandatory.
What do your clients or students call you? We usually go by first names, so I’m Rebecca, Bec, Becky, Becca and the occasional Rachel by kids who forget! It was really strange to go from first names to “Miss V” when I worked in the US.

What do you call these?


In what setting do the majority of SLPs work? Private practice has really exploded in Australia so the percentage of SLPs working there has had significant increases. Otherwise health jobs (hospitals, community centres) are always popular too. My state doesn’t hire SLPs to work in schools, but you might still see a private student there.

What are some big SLP issues in your country at the moment? We have a new National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) that is being rolled out nationwide, so a lot of people with communication disorders are getting funding for speech pathology services. Like with any major overhaul, there are triumphs and hiccups. It also means that a lot of previous funding opportunities for people with ASD and disabilities will change as they roll over.
 What might we not know about being an Aussie SLP? Our association, Speech Pathology Australia has a free Mentoring program that matches up clinicians needing support. As someone who has both been mentored and had a mentee, this is really invaluable (especially if you are coming from overseas). 
Where are some really interesting locations to work in your country? Working rural-remote where you fly in to quite isolated communities in the ‘outback’ has always interested me when I scour job listings. I also eyed a few positions on the islands north of Australia where you ‘island hop’ around to provide services. There can be a lot of sole SLPs in Australia due to the size of the country and the small population size. I definitely recommend new graduates and international SLPs looking at these positions for a really unique work-life experience.
Who are some local SLP’s or that are doing great research? I love speech sound disorders, probably because of the fantastic researchers we have in Australia. Caroline Bowen, Elise Baker, Sharynne McLeod and Trisha McCabe are hands down amazing for the wide umbrella of speech (Trisha has just put up a free training for a CAS treatment). I would definitely recommend searching for them and their articles. I’m so proud of the team of SLP’s who developed the Lidcombe Program and Camperdown Program for stuttering – there is great evidence out there, so read up on them if you’re not familiar.
What are the common articulation and language assessments used? I might be stereotyping here, but I’d say most people would use the CELF-4 as their main language assessment and the DEAP for articulation and phonology. The new Australian/NZ standardization of the CELF-5 has just become available, so I’m sure that this will be the standard. I was totally floored whilst living in America to find out that this was not the norm in my school district. I had to learn tons of new assessments and felt like I was a student all over again.
Want some more international perspectives? Read a Canadian point of view or sign up via email (look for the box on the right) and all blog posts will get delivered straight to you.

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Next Post: 25 Hands-on Ideas for Teaching Syllabification of Words »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mandi says

    November 14, 2017 at 7:17 am

    I love the students slip up and call you Rachel! Not that I know anyone who has done that before though.

    Reply
    • Rebecca Reinking says

      November 15, 2017 at 7:33 am

      Hahahaha!!!!! I told you, it happens ALL the time 🙂

      Reply
  2. Christeena Prakasi Benjamin says

    May 22, 2020 at 10:36 pm

    I was wondering if you know how job prospects are for Bachelor and Master Slp students in Australia….
    Is it possible to find a job with a Bachelors degree….
    I did my bachelors degree in India and I would like to pursue a masters in Speech Pathology at UQ.
    you mentioned that the main places slps work at were mainly private centers, hospitals and community centers.
    I would like to know if people would hire international slps with bachelors or masters degree.
    Also, do you know if passing the Overseas Qualification Competency Assessment is sufficient to get a lisence for bachelor slps

    Reply
  3. LYNN says

    August 8, 2020 at 9:26 pm

    Hi Rebecca! I am an international student who plans to apply for the SP program at Macquaire University. And they require a personal statement to apply it. However, I am having such a hard time getting started with the question about my own understanding of Speech Pathology as practised in Australia. Could you offer some inspiration? I appreciate your help:)

    Reply
    • Rebecca Reinking says

      August 14, 2020 at 10:10 am

      Perhaps look at the Speech Pathology Australia website. They have a lot of great materials and information for the public that can help you understand the practice in Australia. Best of luck, that was the university I studied at 🙂

      Reply

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