Unlocking barriers to communication
ALICIA NALLY sitions at the hospital.
“This is the first career I got into through a bit of a windy pathway,” she said.
“I did a Bachelor of Speech and Hearing Sciences and then a Master of Speech Pathology.
“I was really interested because speech pathology looks at such a wide variety of things and you can look at adults and paediatrics.
“I’ve found it difficult to choose between adults and children though.”
Ms Armstrong said the job’s varied workload keeps her engaged.
Ms Armstrong works on a program providing rehabilitation for older people in their homes who may have suffered a stroke, have a degenerative condition like Parkinson’s or dementia and cancer.
Speech therapy targets problems with speech, language, swallowing, fluency and voice.
Ms Armstrong said seeing results in patients was a rewarding part of her career.
Instances which stand out include a lady in her 50s unable to swallow after a motor vehicle accident who returned to eating and drinking normally and a four-year-old whose intelligible speech was improved with eight weeks of intensive therapy.
“It’s fantastic for the people themselves and their families,” Ms Armstrong said.
“If you think how much time you spend speaking and how much you enjoy eating and drinking, it is very important.”