Speech and Language Therapy Modules

Students will be introduced to children whose communication disorder is associated with a common primary biomedical diagnosis, including autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, and hearing impairment. They will consider the different implications of each disability type on communication assessment protocols in home, school, and community settings. Students will evaluate common environmental modifications and evidence-based intervention approaches specific to each disability as they learn to interpret and integrate information from multiple sources in case management. Students are prepared to work collaboratively with the individual’s family and other professionals, to apply a client-focused, functional, lifespan approach to case management.

This module is designed to provide students opportunities to assess, diagnose, plan and set goals for intervention to clients with communication and/or swallowing disorders. Students will work under the guidance of a qualified Speech and Language therapist with the aim of attaining at least novice level of competency across the range of practice areas for simple cases. Students will develop reflective learning skills, integration skills and present a case from their placement. Students will also develop generic competencies such as professional conduct, adhering to institutional policies and guidelines and team work skills.

Complementing this module is the module “Introduction to Clinical Reasoning and Professional Issues in Speech Therapy” that will provide students with foundation speech therapy professional skills that they will apply during the placement.

This module prepares students for their honours thesis. Students enrolled in this module will develop a research proposal and submit the proposal for examination at the end of the study period. The research proposal will include the research questions or hypotheses, a critical review of the literature, proposed methodology taking into account ethical considerations, and a project plan. Students will also be equipped with basic research knowledge and skills necessary for pursuing research at honours level.

This module will focus on assessment, differential diagnosis and clinical management of adolescents and adults with acquired language disorders including aphasia and cognitive-communication disorders arising from various neurological etiologies.

Students will integrate their knowledge and skills in cognitive neuroscience for speech language therapy. Students will learn normal cognitive and language processing, brain behaviour correlates, and how to assess cognitive-communication and language impairment resulting from neurologic injury or disease.

Students will gain an understanding of the therapeutic processes and approaches for the management of acquired communication disorders, including cognitive neuropsychological approaches to rehabilitation. Study of acquired communication disability will be framed in relation to the WHO's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), with specific considerations for multilingualism and the local context.

This module provides a study of disorders of voice production. Students will learn about the diagnostic evaluation of voice using perceptual, instrumental and observational methods, and tools for measuring the psychosocial impact of a voice disorder. Students will integrate assessment information to form a clinical impression of the voice disorder to plan appropriate treatment and referrals. The treatment modalities for voice disorders of structural, neurogenic, functional and psychogenic etiologies, as well as alaryngeal speech production methods will be covered.

This module builds on knowledge and skills covered in SLT2304 - Introduction to Clinical Reasoning and Professional Issues in Speech Therapy. Students will continue to grow their skills in clinical reasoning, supported by evidence-based practice, across simple to moderately complex cases through problem-based learning.

Cases will cover the range of practice which may include speech, language, voice, swallowing, fluency and multi-modal communication. The complex cases will also require students to consider and evaluate ethical, cultural, and professional issues. This module will also incorporate contemporary topics affecting speech and language therapy practice.

Students will consider goal setting for therapy and learn to evaluate therapy outcomes. Students will demonstrate good interpersonal communication amongst peers, faculty, and clients.

This module focuses on the professional, ethical and legal drivers of health professional practice. It explores the conceptualization of professionalism of the health professionals in terms of identity, the work they perform and autonomy. Students learn various ethical theories from both the West and the East, incorporating these in case-based learning activities that also stimulate and chart their moral development. Specific ethical issues such as informed consent, confidentiality, sanctity of life and end-of-life issues, and many others, are discussed. Pertinent local healthcare laws as they relate to the professional and ethical conduct of health care professionals as well as health services provision will be examined in the context of professional and ethical practice. This module is intended for students from various health sciences disciplines so that interprofessional learning about professional and ethical issues can be achieved.

This module is designed to provide students with opportunities to assess, diagnose, plan and implement intervention to clients with communication and/or swallowing disorders. Students will work under the guidance of a qualified Speech and Language therapist with the aim of attaining at least intermediate level of competency across the range of practice areas for simple cases. Students will develop reflective learning skills, integration skills and present a case from their placement. Students will also develop generic competencies such as professional conduct, adhering to institutional policies and guidelines and teamwork skills. Students will use innovation frameworks to suggest a sustainable placement- related innovation solution and complete an innovation poster presentation/report.

Students enrolled in this module will work directly with their peers and supervisory team to undertake a research project. Students are expected to work both independently and collaboratively within the research team. This means that if division of labour has been established, students must be able to independently conduct their portion of work. Similarly, where team work is expected, students must be able to cooperate with members of the research team. During the study period, students will be equipped with the basic research knowledge and skills necessary for pursuing research at Honours level. Students will present their research findings in students’ forum or conference and submit their work in dissertation format or in the form of a publishable manuscript ready for submission to a peer reviewed journal. This module is conducted over four consecutive trimesters, commencing in Year 3 Tri 2. It is contiguous to Honours Thesis Proposal module as part of the Honours Thesis process.

This module will provide students with a foundational understanding of the principles of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and its applications and an understanding of how it relates to Language and Communication.

This module will cover the different types of AAC systems, AAC assessment and intervention strategies, as well as how AAC can be implemented in a variety of settings. Students will also learn about how AAC can be applied for individuals with complex communication needs across the life span. The different types of AAC Technology will also be discussed.

In addition to lectures, students will also be provided with the opportunity to be able to have hands-on learning experiences. They will also be able to listen to the perspective of individuals who use AAC either live or virtually.