Learning Diversity 

Happy Speech Pathology week! 

Communication is more than you think! Here are some fun facts. Did you know... 

-Around 1.2 Million Australians have a communication disability though, communication disability is largely invisible.

-28% of teachers take time off work each year because of voice problems 

-20% of four-year-old children have difficulty understanding or using language. 

-Approximately 1 in 88 children meet the criteria for ASD; this is equal to 1 in 54 boys and 1 in 252 girls. 

-14% of 15-year-olds have only basic literacy skills 

-85% of those with Parkinson’s disease have voice, speech and/ or swallowing difficulties

-13,000 Australians use electronic communication aids to get their message across 

-Children with a language, impairment are six times more likely to have a reading problem than children without. 

-46% of young Australian offenders have a language impairment 

-There is a high correlation between communication difficulties and poor mental health

-Three in every 1,000 newborns have hearing loss, which without intervention can affect their speech, language and literacy. Indigenous children have three times more hearing problems than non-Indigenous children 

-Around 7% to 9% of children and 5% to 6% of adults will have a voice problem. Women are more likely to develop voice problems than men 

-Occupational voice users (e.g. teachers, child care workers, vocal performers, call centre workers, media presenters, auctioneers, barristers, aged care workers) are most at risk with around 18% having a voice problem at any one time, and up to 60% experiencing a voice problem at least once during their career 

-Around 1% of the population experiences stuttering at any given time and as many as 5% across a lifetime. 

- Recent research in Australia indicates that 8.5% of 3-year-old children experience stuttering. 

-About 10% of school children have problems with reading and writing! 

-Every 10 minutes, an Australian suffers a stroke – that’s more than 60,000 strokes each year. In the next 10 years, it is estimated that more than half a million people will suffer a stroke, making it the leading cause of disability in Australia. 60% of people who have had a stroke will develop a swallowing difficulty (dysphagia), while around 20% will have difficulty using speech. A further 30% of all people who have had a stroke will have difficulty articulating ideas or comprehending written or spoken language (aphasia). 

-Humans swallow at between 500-700 times a day,around three times an hour during sleep, once per minute while awake and even more during meals. Around one million Australians have a swallowing difficulty. 

So, there you have it! As Speech Pathologists, we are educated to work with all these populations. We are there to diagnose, assess, and support all kinds of people with communication challenges. If you ever want to talk about your own experiences with Speech Pathology or have personal concerns, reach out! We are here to help. 

Have a great week and happy speech pathology week!