Our Appreciation
Dear families,
Just like that another Term has come and nearly gone. Towards the end of each Term, I take a moment to reflect on what has occurred and some of the little wins we have had along the way. My reflections often start from a position of gratitude, as the privilege of supporting your child and family is never lost on our team here at Telethon Speech & Hearing. We are not only grateful to be able to help you, but also appreciative of the unique insights into the successes and challenges you may face.
Along with these insights, includes knowing our responsibility to help make the systems we operate in – across education, health, disability, and community – better for all families in our State.
Recently, you may have seen news relating to the inadequacy of parts of the public health system in supporting children after a dire revelation that the average waiting times for government-based paediatric and allied health services were now stretching months, even years long. I’d like to think this followed two opinion pieces we wrote on this topic, highlighting the long waiting times families face and how corporate partnerships may help improve them.
While it does not really matter how the issue gets coverage, the important point is that it is getting addressed – with your family’s experiences leading the way for change.
A family’s journey speaks the loudest. One specific example sticks into my mind about a family who drove over three hours each way from the Wheatbelt so their son could come participate in our Talkabout 5 program in Wembley. That family has been a staunch advocate (and supporter of ours) for service improvements in the Wheatbelt. Without this family’s voice and experiences, we would not be in the position to facilitate some change in the region.
Another example is the Power of Speech event held in Canberra.
On September 8, I travelled alongside a wonderful Outpost family with twins to Parliament House in Canberra. Both twins spoke in front of our country’s Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and other Ministers and bureaucrats about their hearing journey so far. Their words revealed the power of our Chatterbox and Outpost programs in supporting children with hearing loss and their families, while their life-experiences brought up issues and gaps in the system that still needed to be addressed.
While the trip is filled with fun and excitement, there is a serious side. One of the questions we asked included: what happens to the 50% of children in Australia with a hearing loss who don’t get this specialist support? What outcomes will they have?
In a country like Australia, we can do better to make sure each child with a hearing loss, or speech or language development concern can get the support they need.
So, what else needs to be addressed?
Here at Telethon Speech & Hearing, we know our systems could be better. With your involvement, we can better understand what truly needs to change to make an impactful difference in your child and family’s lives.
Ways you and your family can help make change:
Tell us your family’s story
The more we understand your family’s experiences, the greater we can amplify issues that matter and seek to make change.
Get your friends, family, and workplace supporting Loud Shirt Day on October 21
Loud Shirt Day provides us with the opportunity to have people connect with what we do at Telethon Speech & Hearing and help tell the stories of the families we support. The more people we can get involved and the greater the awareness we create in the community the better the outcome will be for families now and into the future.
Complete our Annual Family Survey
Taking part in our annual survey is an opportunity for you to anonymously share your experiences and help improve service delivery at TSH.
As we head into the holidays, I would like to express my thanks on behalf of all of the team at Telethon Speech & Hearing for your ongoing support and trust in us. Earlier, I referred to the privileged position we are in – we are extremely fortunate to be able to support your family. Our entire team takes immense pride in seeing the progress your child makes and we are grateful to play a small part in that journey.
Enjoy your holidays and we look forward to seeing you back in Term 4.
Senior Leadership Team
Telethon Speech & Hearing is headed by a CEO and senior management team, who between them have decades worth of experience in the healthcare, education and charity space.
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© 2022 Telethon Speech & Hearing Ltd.
Telethon Speech & Hearing acknowledges and thanks all individuals and organisations for their support of our centre, including: Channel 7 Telethon Trust, Channel 7 and The West Australian
