Shifting the wait: meeting the demands for paediatric speech pathology services

The challenge of adequately servicing the paediatric speech pathology needs of rural communities is a well-documented and ever-changing one. Over time, clinicians have tried and tested a plethora of service delivery models in an attempt to best and most fairly meet the demand for services. Rural paediatric speech pathologists are typically specialist-generalists treating the whole gamut of communication and swallowing impairment from birth to 18 years utilising multiple service models simultaneously to address the needs of the caseload. Intervention models are often selected and applied to address need according to diagnosis, with key examples being parent training approaches, small group therapy, home or school programming, therapy via tele or videoconference, and most commonly, individual therapy. The ultimate aim of using these models, is to provide the best service to the client and adequately manage an entire caseload with equity.