Statistics show that one in seven Australians will experience a communication difficulty at some stage in their life. Our remarkable team of speech pathologists have been helping WA kids reach their goals. By Kerry Picotti. 

Communication is a basic human right, so any communication difficulty, from mild to complex, may act as a barrier for a person to interact with others and participate in everyday activities.

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With the right supports, every person with communication difficulty can overcome these barriers and live a good life. Speech Pathology Week, which was held from 20 - 26 August this year, aims to raise awareness of communication disability and the role speech pathologists play in supporting those with a communication delay or disability.

This year, the theme for Speech Pathology Week was 'Communicating for life' and the important role speech pathologists play in supporting quality of life across the lifespan. Communication skills underpin the ability to read and write, get a job, and enjoy family and friends. Speech pathologists work with people to change lives and build opportunities.

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What is speech pathology?

Speech pathology involves assessing speech and language skills and providing therapy to remediate delays or disorders identified in the assessment.

What areas are covered by our speech pathologists at TSH?

Speech pathologists who work with children are trained to identify and treat the following areas:

• Phonology & articulation – how speech sounds are said.

• Semantics – learning names of objects, and their meanings (vocabulary) and the development of a storage network for this vocabulary.

• Syntax – Use of word and sentence structures

• Narrative – the development of larger units of language to be able to have a conversation, tell a story or relay an event or procedure.

• Comprehension – the understanding of language.

• Pragmatics – the use of language for a range of purposes and the knowledge of conversational skills.

• Phonological awareness – the ability to consciously reflect or ‘tune into’ the sounds of our language. Phonological awareness is an important component of early reading success.

• Literacy – Reading and writing skills.

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