Did you know that around 1.2 million Australians need support with their communication skills?
August 24th-30th marked Speech Pathology Week 2025, when we recognised the role our speech pathologists play in supporting and empowering people with Autism to communicate in their own way.
Impact Through Communication
The importance of overcoming communication challenges and helping each person find their unique voice was embodied by this year’s theme ‘Impact Through Communication’.
Speech pathologists make an impact in the lives of the individuals they support by building:
Wellbeing through expression and emotional connection
Confidence through clear and proud communication
Connection through establishing and strengthening relationships
Empowerment through advocating for needs and choice-making
Independence through communication skills that create lifelong independence
Inclusion through making communication accessible for everyone
Opportunity through opening doors to learning, employment, and community involvement
Activities to Acknowledge the Week
Our team celebrated Speech Pathology Week with a range of get-togethers and activities inspired by this year’s theme.
“‘Impact Through Communication’” resonates with us as we believe everyone should have access to communication and that all forms of communication are equally valuable,” says Therapy Team Leader, Bianca.
In between conversations about what communication means to them and the people they support, our Therapy team ran monster-making barrier games across our hubs and invited all staff to take part.
The goal was to create crafty creatures by working in pairs and using only non-verbal cues – like communication boards and gestures – to tell their partners what each monster should be made of, what colours it should be, and of course, how many googly eyes it should have!
These games gave participants an opportunity to consider the challenges and benefits of using Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and the effect it has on expressing needs and wants. Activities like this are often used by speech pathologists to strengthen listening, describing and turn-taking skills, as well as the ability to follow directions, in the individuals they support.
Take a look at some snapshots below, featuring a few of our frighteningly imaginative monsters.
You can learn more about Speech Pathology Week 2025 by visiting the Speech Pathology Australia website.