Scope - Therapy, Training, Consultancy - Communication Resource Centre

Katie Lyon has provided a summary report of her Creswick Foundation in Family Relations and Child Development Fellowship study tour (Sept - Dec 2004)

THE CRESWICK FOUNDATION IN FAMILY RELATIONS AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT FELLOWSHIP

In 2004 I was fortunate enough to receive the Creswick Foundation in Family Relations and Child Development Fellowship. The aim of my Creswick Foundation Fellowship study tour was to:

Identify different models of early childhood intervention service delivery that are considered best practice for families of children with severe and multiple disabilities and complex communication needs,
Learn strategies to evaluate models of service delivery,
Contrast the models according to their aims and the contexts in which they are implemented, and
Develop skills and knowledge in dysphagia (mealtime assistance and swallowing).

The settings that I visited varied from specialised communication assessment centres, departments within hospitals, to research centres and academic institutions across the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Canada. I also shared and gathered knowledge from the ISAAC conference in Brazil.

Assessment and intervention
Visiting centres in the United Kingdom gave me the opportunity to improve my clinical knowledge of augmentative and alternative communication with some internationally recognised clinicians. It was a valuable experience to be involved in assessments at the ACE centre. This centre is an independent charity that provides assessment and training for people with complex communication needs who require augmentative and alternative communication intervention. My visit there enhanced my knowledge of the communication technology available for children with complex communication needs including the newest electronic communication devices and software programs and their application. It also increased my awareness of the various models of service delivery that have been trialed and evaluated, such as using video-conferencing and point-to-point computer linking for assessment and training purposes.

My experience with Dr. Gisel at the Montreal Children's Hospital in Canada also helped me to develop my clinical problem solving skills in dysphagia (mealtime assistance) and oral motor interventions to assist in the development of eating and drinking skills of young children.

ISAAC sharing
The ISAAC (International Society of Augmentative and Alternative Communication) conference in Brazil was certainly one of the highlights of my Fellowship. Having the opportunity to present work that I have been involved in, through poster and paper presentations to my international colleagues, helped me to develop confidence in my work and presentation skills. Learning about new resources and products, projects and ideas from around the world has inspired me to try new things in my own work and keep up to date with the always changing field of augmentative and alternative communication.

Personally, I found it emotionally moving to be part of the wider AAC community. By observing and talking to new friends, family members, support workers and colleagues, I could sense the same passion and enthusiasm that I feel. I will definitely attend other ISAAC conferences during my career.

Working with families
The information gathered at Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute in North Carolina and CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research in Ontario, will benefit my work and the work of the Communication Resource Centre. At these places, I was exposed to a much more diverse group of children, families and professionals than I had experienced before the study tour. Consequently, I have been introduced to the broader disability field and the unique issues those families of children with a disability face on a daily basis. These places have also showed me how useful and practical ideas can become valuable resources through careful research and evaluation.

Frequently reported challenges for families include service system coordination and access to information. Some of the resources that have been developed have been shown to assist families in these areas and can be easily adapted to meet the needs of Australian families. The service systems, programs and supports available have also been explored and can now be compared to our local context. Knowing about these recent and current projects and models has enabled me to return home with fresh ideas to further investigate with my colleagues. I have certainly left these research institutes more motivated to pursue my own post-graduate research.

Partnerships
In reflecting on how these models and resources can be used in Australia, it is important to consider that the centres I visited have access to a wide range of resources, including experienced staff and families willing to participate in research. This relationship has come about largely because of a formal system of university affiliated programs: that is, formal relationships between the universities and a number of direct services in surrounding geographic areas. As a result, the university centres are able to develop and trial new and varied models of service provision and resources and have ready access to qualified and experienced therapists and families.

In addition, because the university centres are actively involved in working with young children and families within the early childhood sector, they are in touch with the broad issues that arise across the disability field. This allows them to produce high quality research of direct relevance to families and practitioners. In adapting models to the Australian context, the importance of forming formal partnerships with families and people working directly with children with disabilities in our region and across the state is apparent.

The Communication Resource Centre in Victoria is well positioned to initiate partnerships, encourage collaborations and provide support to the early childhood sector. Such collaborations will allow us to explore and evaluate different models and resources that are considered best practice, according to the international literature, within the Australian context. I look forward to being an active member of this process.
Going forward
This experience has provided me with the opportunity to have ongoing communication and sharing of resources and ideas with international colleagues working in early childhood services. The projects and initiatives about which I gathered information during my study tour will be shared amongst people from the Communication Resource Centre, the Regional Communication Services and other childhood disability organisations. Together we can brainstorm further ideas and plan for future projects.

The Creswick Foundation Fellowship has truly been an experience of a lifetime and one that will never be forgotten.

For more information regarding the Creswick Foundation Fellowship, or a full report on the places that were visited, please contact:
Katie Lyon
Speech Pathologist
Communication Resource Centre, Scope Vic.
830 Whitehorse Road, Box Hill, VIC, AUSTRALIA, 3218.
Phone: (03) 9843 2007, Fax: (03) 9843 2033
Email: klyon.crc@scopevic.org.au
Website: www.scopevic.org.au