Speech and language therapy

These inherent requirements apply to the following courses: Master of Speech and Language Therapy and Bachelor of Health Science/Master of Speech and Language Therapy.

Prospective and current students who are concerned about their capacities in relation to the inherent requirements are strongly encouraged to contact the CDU Access and Inclusion team to discuss possible adjustments or alternative courses.

E: inclusion@cdu.edu.au

These inherent requirements should be read in conjunction with other course information and related material such as the admission criteria, course structure and study plan.

These inherent requirements should also be read in conjunction with information and publications by the Speech Pathology Association of Australia, including documents that relate to professional standards, competency and ethical practice, the Competency-based Occupational Standards for Speech Pathologists, COMPASS® Competency Assessment in Speech Pathology, National Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics, Speech Pathology Australia. 

There are seven domains of inherent requirements for speech and language therapy courses.

Each domain has five levels: 

1. Introduction
2. Description
3. Justification
4. Adjustments
5. Exemplars

Acting in ways consistent with the recognized values of society and avoiding activities that do harm.

In the context of inherent requirements, students undertaking a course of study may be governed by practice standards and codes of ethics.

1. Introduction
   Speech pathology is a profession that is governed by professional standards and a code of ethics and a national code of conduct for allied health professionals in which speech pathologists are both accountable and responsible for ensuring safe and professional behaviour in all contexts.

2. Description of inherent requirement

   Student demonstrates knowledge of, and engages in, ethical behaviour in practice.

3. Justification of inherent requirement

   Compliance with the codes, guidelines and standards facilitates safe, competent interactions and relationships for students and/or the people with whom they engage. This supports the physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of all.

4. Adjustments

   Adjustments must ensure the codes, guidelines and standards are not compromised or result in unethical behaviour.

5. Exemplars:

   • Complying with the values, standards and duties of the profession as outlined in the Code of Ethics

   • Demonstrating the ability to reflect on ethical dilemmas and issues and take responsibility for ethical behaviour in line with the Speech Pathology Australia Code of Ethics.

Related to the law. In the context of inherent requirements, this refers to the legal requirements of professional bodies relevant to specific courses of study.

1. Introduction
   Speech pathology is a profession mandated by legislation and professional standards to enable the safe delivery of care.

2. Description of inherent requirement

   Student demonstrates knowledge of and compliance with Australian Law and professional regulatory requirements and standards, which dictate the scope of speech pathology practice.

3. Justification of inherent requirement

   Knowledge, understanding and compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements and standards are necessary pre-requisites to clinical placements, to reduce the risk of harm to self and others. Compliance with the Australian Law and professional regulatory requirements and standards ensures that students are both responsible and accountable for their practice.

4. Adjustments

   Adjustments must be consistent with legislative and regulatory requirements.

5. Exemplars:

   • Complying with professional standards relating to professional behaviour and competency in academic and clinical settings

   • Complying with medico-legal requirements including informed consent, privacy, child protection and safety in academic and clinical settings.

Verbal communication: Conveying messages, ideas, or feelings through speech.

1. Introduction
   Effective and professional verbal communication, in English, is an essential requirement to provide competent delivery of care.

2. Description of inherent requirement

   Student demonstrates:

   • Respect for diversity during individual, family and community interactions

   • Accurate and timely comprehension and processing of conversational speech, verbal instructions and feedback

   • Clear expression with intelligible and appropriate instructions and feedback required for the communication context

   • Capacity to provide an accurate and timely model of speech and language skills in clinical setting

   • Effective presentation of information in a group/team setting

   • Ability to use interpersonal communication skills to positively interact and build rapport with others

   • Ability to respond appropriately during communication interactions with others when ‘higher level’ language skills are required including understanding abstract concepts, humour and responding appropriately to cynicism or sarcasm

   • Capacity to adapt own communication to provide accessible information and facilitate others to effectively communicate.

3. Justification of inherent requirement

   Verbal communication equivalent to an IELTS level 7 or above is a requirement for students enrolling in the Master of Speech and Language Therapy course. Verbal communication is a core element of speech pathology professional practice. Communicating in a way that displays respect and empathy with others underpins effective professional relationships. Comprehension of conversation, instructions and feedback is integral to clinical learning and practice. Accurate, clear and appropriate speech and language models are required to provide effective therapy. Presenting verbal information in group situations is consistently required in speech pathology workplaces.
   Timely, accurate and effective delivery of instructions and feedback is essential for speech pathology management. Speech pathology students will need to adapt their communication in response to clients’ communication needs. Speech pathology practice may include communication in face to face and online environments.

4. Adjustments 

   Adjustments must address effectiveness, timeliness, clarity and accuracy issues to ensure safety and appropriate care. Adjustments must enable effective verbal communication in individual, small and large groups consistent with speech pathology practice.

5. Exemplars:

   • Participating in tutorial, simulation, clinical discussions and verbal presentations

   • Demonstrating verbal communication skills to convey complex clinical speech pathology information, concepts, assessment and management with individuals, families and communities

   • Communicating effectively with peers, educators, and team members to plan, implement and evaluate speech pathology services.

Non-verbal communication: Communication other than speech that conveys meaning including gestures and facial expressions, body posture, stance, touch, eye movements, eye contact and distance from the person/s with whom you are communicating. Non-verbal cues can provide significant additional information to the person with whom you are communicating.

1. Introduction
   Effective non-verbal communication is fundamental to speech pathology practice and needs to be respectful, clear, attentive, appropriate, and professional.

2. Description of inherent requirement

   Student demonstrates:

   • Capacity to recognise, interpret and respond appropriately to non-verbal behavioural cues by others

   • Capacity to use non-verbal behaviours to facilitate positive interpersonal interactions with others

   • Consistent and appropriate awareness of own behaviours during communication interactions

   • Responsiveness to children and adults who communicate using multimodalities, augmentative communication and/or Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices.

3. Justification of inherent requirement

   The ability to observe and understand non-verbal cues assists with building rapport with people and developing academic and professional relationships. Displaying consistent and appropriate facial expressions, eye contact, being mindful of space, time boundaries and body movements and gestures facilitates effective communication. The ability to observe and understand non -verbal cues is essential for safe and effective observation of client communication and mealtime management. Understanding and responding to multimodal communication, including the use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) by children and adults, is core speech pathology practice.

4. Adjustments

   Adjustments must enable the recognition and initiation of effective non-verbal communication and avoidance of inappropriate non-verbal behaviours.

5. Exemplars:

   • Recognising and responding appropriately to cues in the academic and clinical settings

   • Using appropriate non-verbal communication to facilitate interactions with individuals and families

   • Interacting appropriately with clients who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).

Written communication: Communication by written symbols including electronic means, print or handwriting.

1. Introduction
   Effective written communication, in English, is a fundamental responsibility in speech pathology with professional and legal ramifications.

2. Description of inherent requirement

   Student demonstrates:

   • Ability to process and construct written communication accurately and in a timely manner

   • Ability to read and comprehend a range of literature and information

   • Capacity to construct written communication with cohesion, grammar, and spelling appropriate to the academic or clinical context

   • Capacity to administer and analyse client assessments that include written textual components

   • Capacity to adapt written communication to meet the communication needs of clients, families and the community

   • The capacity to use a range of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to complete academic assessment requirements.

3. Justification of inherent requirement Accurate processing of client notes, reports and feedback is vital to provide consistent and safe client care. Construction of written text-based assessment tasks to reflect the required academic standards is necessary to convey knowledge and understanding of relevant subject matter for professional practice. Accurate written communication, including record-keeping and client notes which meet legal and ethical requirements, is vital to provide consistent and safe client care. Assessment of clients’ reading, and writing is required during speech pathology practice. Written communication needs to be adapted so that information is accessible for clients, families, and communities.
4. Adjustments Adjustments must meet necessary standards of clarity, accuracy and accessibility to ensure effective recording and transmission of information occurs in both academic and clinical environments and that competent literacy support may be provided to speech pathology clients.
5. Exemplars:
   • Constructing an essay or academic writing task to academic and professional standards
   • Constructing client notes, reports, and educational information in a timely manner that meets medico legal, ethical and professional standards
   • Providing written material using style and content that is accessible for individuals, families and communities.

The mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through one's thoughts, experience, and senses.

Knowledge and cognitive skills: Acquired skills that reflect an individual's ability to think. Cognitive skills include verbal and spatial abilities, concentration, memory, perception, reasoning, planning and organisation, flexible thinking, and problem solving.

1. Introduction
   Consistent knowledge and effective cognitive skills must be demonstrated to provide safe and effective speech pathology management.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates:
   • Capacity to locate appropriate and relevant information
   • Ability to process and recall information relevant to practice
   • Ability to integrate and implement knowledge in practice in a responsive manner
   • Ability to reflect on performance and develop action plans
   • Capacity to develop clinical reasoning skills.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Safe and effective delivery of speech pathology management is based on comprehensive knowledge that must be sourced, understood and applied appropriately. Reflection, reasoning and professional development are essential for speech pathology practice.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must ensure that a clear demonstration of knowledge and cognitive skills is not compromised or impeded.
5. Exemplars:
   • Conceptualising and using appropriate knowledge in response to academic assessment items
   • Appropriately applying knowledge of theory, research evidence, policies and procedures in the clinical setting
   • Capacity to learn or change behaviours in response to feedback.

Literacy (language): This relates to the ability to acquire, understand, and apply information in a scholarly manner.

1. Introduction
   Competent literacy skills, in English, are essential to provide safe and effective speech pathology practice.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates:
   • Ability to acquire information and accurately convey appropriate, effective messages
   • Capacity to understand and implement academic conventions to construct written text in a scholarly manner.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   The ability to acquire information and to accurately convey messages is fundamental to ensure safe and effective assessment, treatment and delivery of care. The ability to read, decode, interpret and comprehend multiple sources of information is fundamental for safe and effective delivery of care. Literacy skills are necessary to provide effective speech pathology services to children and adults.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must demonstrate a capacity to effectively acquire, comprehend, apply and communicate accurate information.
5. Exemplars:
   • Critically reviewing evidence on assessment and therapy approaches in speech pathology practice in academic and clinical contexts.

Numeracy: This relates to the ability to understand and work with numbers.

1. Introduction
   Competent and accurate numeracy skills are essential to provide safe and effective speech pathology management.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates the ability to interpret and correctly apply data, measurements and numerical criteria.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Competent application of numeracy skills is essential to facilitate the safe and effective delivery of speech pathology services.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must demonstrate a capacity to interpret and apply concepts and processes appropriately in a timely, accurate and effective manner.
5. Exemplars:
   • Recording accurate data in client notes
   • Scoring and analysing speech pathology assessments.

Sensory Ability
The way a person recognizes external stimuli - through sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch.

Visual acuity

1. Introduction
   Adequate visual acuity is required to provide safe and effective speech pathology management.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates sufficient visual acuity to perform the required range of speech pathology skills.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Sufficient visual acuity is necessary to demonstrate the required range of skills, tasks and assessments to maintain consistent, accurate and safe care of self and others. Visual observations, examinations and assessment are fundamental to safe and effective speech pathology practice.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must address the need to perform the full range of tasks involved in clinical practice. Any strategies to address the effects of the vision impairment must be effective, consistent and not compromise treatment or safety.
5. Exemplars:
   • Observing and examining the functioning of oral muscles required for communication and swallowing
   • Observing and interacting with clients using multimodal communication.

Auditory

1. Introduction
   Adequate auditory ability is required to provide safe and effective speech pathology practice.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates sufficient auditory function to undertake the required range of skills.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Sufficient auditory ability is necessary to monitor, assess and manage an individual’s speech pathology needs consistently and accurately. Assessments and observations that rely on auditory perception and processing are fundamental to safe and effective speech pathology practice.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must address the need to perform the range of tasks involved in clinical practice. Any strategies to address the effects of hearing impairment must be effective, consistent and not compromise treatment or safety.
5. Exemplars:
   • Ability to discriminate speech sounds in a range of communication environments
   • Responding appropriately to a client’s responses during assessment and management in a range of clinical context
   • Ability to accurately model speech sounds in a range of communication environments.

Tactile

1. Introduction
   Sufficient tactile ability is required to perform competent and safe speech pathology management.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates sufficient tactile function to undertake the required range of skills and assessments.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Sufficient tactile ability is necessary to monitor, assess and detect clients' physical functioning during communication and mealtimes for appropriate speech pathology management. Tactile assessments and observations are fundamental to safe and effective speech pathology practice.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must have the capacity to make effective assessments of physical characteristics and abnormalities within safe time frames.
5. Exemplars:
   • Assessing changes in oral muscular functioning
   • Palpating muscles required for swallowing and detecting anatomical or movement abnormalities
   • Demonstration of treatment techniques such as swallowing rehabilitation.

Gross motor skills: The use of large muscle groups that coordinate body movements for activities such as walking, lifting, pushing, pulling, and maintaining balance.

1. Introduction
   Speech pathology is a profession that involves some physical demands and adequate gross motor function.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates the ability to perform gross motor skills to function within the scope of practice.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Sufficient gross motor skills are necessary to perform the required level of care. Tasks that involve gross motor skills include carrying, pushing, pulling, sitting, standing, twisting and bending. Students must be able to demonstrate and perform these tasks consistently and safely to reduce the risk of harm to self and others
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must facilitate functional effectiveness, safety of self and others and a capacity to provide appropriate care.
5. Exemplars:
   • Evaluating clients, in a safe and effective manner, who have varying physical capacity, who may be positioned in hospital beds, wheelchairs, on chairs of varied size and when standing, and who may reside in diverse health or community settings?

Fine motor skills: The ability to undertake precise coordinated movements of the hands for activities such as writing and manipulating small objects.

1. Introduction
   Speech pathology is a profession that requires manual dexterity and fine motor skills.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates the ability to use fine motor skills to function within the scope of practice.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Sufficient fine motor skills are necessary to administer speech pathology assessments and conduct therapy with children and adults. Tasks that involve fine motor skills involve being able to manipulate various objects required for communication and mealtime management. Students must be able to demonstrate and perform these tasks consistently and safely to reduce the risk of harm to self and others.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must facilitate functional effectiveness, safety to self and others and a capacity to provide appropriate care.
5. Exemplars:
   • Recording data and writing client notes in a timely and legible manner
   • Manipulating utensils and resources required to conduct communication and swallowing assessments and management
   • Using hand signs and other augmentative and alternative communication methods with clients.

The ability to undertake a task/s over a pre-determined length of time. This could include physical performance such as standing for a length of time, or cognitive (mental) performance such as concentrating for a particular length of time.

1. Introduction
   Speech pathology practice requires physical and cognitive performance at a consistent and sustained level to meet individual needs over time.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates:
   • The ability to perform diverse tasks with a level of concentration that ensures a capacity to focus on each activity until it is completed appropriately
   • The capacity to maintain consistency and quality of performance throughout the designated period of time. 
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Sufficient physical and mental endurance is an essential requirement needed to perform multiple tasks in an assigned period to provide safe and effective speech pathology management.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must ensure that performance is consistent and sustained over a required period.
5. Exemplars:
   • Actively participating in tutorials, practicals and lectures
   • Managing attention and fatigue to provide consistent speech pathology management over a negotiated time frame while on clinical placement.