Speech pathologist Job Description
To implement the Early Intervention Model (birth to 8 years).
Supports delivered in mainstream natural environments including the home, childcare preschool, early childhood community activities and school of the parent choice.
To fully implement all aspects of the Routine Based intervention and Evidence Based Practice.
To focus on the domains for children of engagement, independence, social participation, and communication.
To be responsive & flexible to each family’s individual circumstances, needs & goals for accessing early childhood intervention for their child.
Make appropriate referrals and recommendations to other professionals / support systems.
Collaborate with relevant parties involved in the child’s care (e.g., teachers, psychologists, etc).
To create an IFSSP in collaboration with the family and other Yarran staff. To develop an individual support plan for each child’s goals, identifying strategies to be implemented in daily routines and activities. Goals are to be family centred. Skills and capacity of individual families are to be considered when developing strategies to achieve each goal.
To evaluate the child’s progress in the final review in collaboration with the family / significant parties involved, while reflecting on outcomes of support.
To maintain high quality and effective verbal and written communication with the CEO, child’s family, childcare staff, and their Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistant.
To provide parents and educators (when appropriate if seen in education setting) with session updates of their child’s progress in relation to their individual support plan.
To consult with other Yarran team members on the child’s progress, outcomes and plan organising joint visits when needed
To perform a variety of standardised and non-standardised tests to assess each child’s development and progress. Or to consistently monitor the child’s skills and outcomes to ascertain the suitability of strategies and plan for future visits.
To provide age and developmentally appropriate toys, activities, and resources to guide and implement play-based session. If the family require specific toys and activities to work on recommended strategies, then toys are to be take and left with the family between visits.
To model teaching strategies & techniques to the family member involved in the home session. To liaise with significant others to discuss, plan and educate as needed to maximise skill development and goal attainment.
In the child-care centre you will utilise the toys, equipment, daily routines & group time available in the centre.
Within the classroom, support the child’s success within their school through teacher education, strategies for classroom management, and collaboration with school staff.
To model, give strategies, make suggestions & recommendations & provide resources that will assist the child’s enrolment & sustain their attendance in mainstream settings.
To provide practical strategies and supports that promote the children & family’s inclusion within their childcare playgroup/preschool, mainstream school & local community.
To strengthen & develop mainstream children’s services and school’s capacities to provide early childhood supports within their daily programs promoting children with disabilities’ inclusion & sustains their enrolment /participation in local community activities.
To support transitions that are inherent in early childhood, including: transitioning to the older room at preschool, from playgroup to a preschool /childcare setting, to school, from kindergarten to first class etc. This program can help support the child & family & childcare workers with these transitions.
Advocate for the child and their family when they require support in their preschool / childcare / school setting, such as for the child to be included and maximise their participation within across their settings.
To develop the child’s functional & adaptive skills in their natural settings, expanding their skills in the contexts the child needs to be successful in & in ways that promotes their inclusion and family’s satisfaction with their daily routines.
Strategies will promote the inclusion of the child reducing the issues & challenging behaviours therefore maintaining the child’s enrolment in childcare and in school. Advocate for the child with information about how behaviours can be linked to communication abilities.
To develop the capacity, positive attitude and acceptance of mainstream activities & playgroups and families to include children with disabilities & their families.
To evaluate and document the child’s responses & progress to the support plan & the inclusive strategies developed.
To complete documentation that records the family’ level of satisfaction with the outcomes achieved for their child.
To gather data that documents & evaluates each child’s support plan
Research relevant therapy information, best practice and current information for policy development and staff training as requested by the CEO.
To be flexible with implementing support (e.g., with covid).
To be able to navigate and implement telehealth.
Customisation and respect of cultural, language, social and family values and beliefs.
Provide assessment, therapy, and support in the following areas: functioning within the child’s environment, verbal and non-verbal communication skills, expressive language, receptive language, articulation, social skills, augmentative and alternative communication, literacy, feeding / swallowing, fluency, voice, interaction, attention, and engagement.
To undertake self-learning relevant to clinical areas of practice being undertaken with clients, to ensure evidence-based speech pathology practices are being used across all domains.
To reflect Yarran’s core values and show a commitment to protect confidential information in relation to the child and family (except for the purpose of necessary requirements as directed by Yarran’s CEO).
To support the family with emotional, resources and informational support within our role as a speech pathologist.
To provide speech pathology support in consideration of age, social, educational, physical, and intellectual abilities.
To maintain membership with Speech Pathology Australia at all times in order to comply with professional development standards.
To implement the key principles of emotional support, information and advice to families, advocacy, service coordination within our role as a speech pathologist.
Working collaboratively with families and using a multidisciplinary approach with other professionals to achieve goals.
To liaise with supervising speech pathologist and or CEO regarding appropriate clinical management of children and their clinical needs.
To help the family implement the strategies into their daily routines & activities that promote the child’s skill development & increase the confidence of the families to develop their own child’s skills. This may include developing visual communication systems, social stories, and signing, and adapting support plans into home activities & daily routines.
To prescribe aided and non-aided/electronic and non-electronic augmentative and alternative communication devices when clinically appropriate and required.
To act in a professional and ethical manner at all times in compliance with Speech Pathology Australia’s Code of Ethics.