Submissions to the Australian Senate Inquiry

The Australian Senate has launched an inquiry into the prevalence of different types of speech, language and communication disorders and speech pathology services in Australia.

My colleagues and I uploaded seven submissions to the inquiry on the following topics

• Prevalence of speech, language, and communication needs in Australia’s children
• The prevalence of different types of speech, language and communication disorders in Australia from the Sound Start Project
•  Speech pathology services to support Australian children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children: Incidence and prevalence of speech and language disorder
• Evidence of the social cost of failing to treat communication disorders
• The experiences of individuals with a history of childhood speech impairment
• Applying the Recommendations of the World Report on Disability to the speech, language, and communication needs of Australia’s children

The submissions from over 200 people and groups are (gradually being) uploaded here. A Charles Sturt University media release about the submissions is here. Speech Pathology Australia's 118 page submission also references recent work we have undertaken as part of the ARC Future Fellowship and Discovery grants. We look forward to the next phase of this important inquiry.