Orange-based speech pathologist Karen Trengove wants 'up to six month wait' to change

Owner of Orange and Cowra's Learn2Communicate services, and speech pathologist of almost 30 years, Karen Trengove said the demand for children and families in need of speech support has always been on-theme.

Though, she said it's never been higher than the level it's currently sitting at, where it's "now pushing out" from a minimum of three months wait to a four-to-six month wait.

"There is definitely a shortage of speech pathologists in Orange, though, [the issue is] pretty much a nationwide distress now," Ms Trengove said.

"We're all completely swamped and overwhelmed with the demand."

The local speech pathologist said while the shortage used to be problematic mostly in rural areas, she said the industry, like most, has been struggling to recruit staff. That trend extends to major cities as well, such as Sydney and Canberra.

For experts like Ms Trengove, she said having to "tell people to wait" before their child can fully engage with a service has been "really tough".

Having consistently dealt with wait lists throughout her career, she said although it's always been an issue of more demand than supply it's time to really highlight the problem.

"It's becoming a cause of even greater stress for families now, and often, it's such a big step for parents just to make that initial call and to seek support," Ms Trengove said.

"To tell parents that they have to wait before we can help their child, that's a really awful feeling for anyone [in the field of health], because we all got into these jobs to help people.

"We're emotionally-invested in their journeys, so it's really tough."

In working toward a solution, allied health professionals - such as students on placement, fresh university graduates, and early childhood educators - have been getting employed by specialist services like Learn2Communicate, more and more.

This has been to relieve some of the caseload pressure from established speech pathologists, which Ms Trengove said while very "alleviating", is also only part of the fix.

"We've offered allied health assistant roles through student placements over the last few years, which works well with kids who are managing less complex issues," she said.

"But, when you're dealing with families that have children who require a much higher level of support and intervention, that's where the struggle is at play.

"And often, people aren't aware of how vitally important those oral and written communication skills are for a child's development, even with those experiencing mild difficulty with speech."

To tackle the problem, the first step is to increase awareness of the issue in the community, Ms Trengove said.

With early intervention being "key", highlighting the social implications - for children going without this professional support - is a major hurdle in hitting those developmental milestones.

For a preschooler, six months in their life can be the difference between help prior to school, which the expert said is also a critical factor.

"It starts to impact on their social skills and overall learning, and we're still extremely busy even when we do get to see them; so, you've then got the issue of limitation around the intensity or frequency of services that they want and need," she said.

"We really do our best to get them off that list as soon as we can, but it's a bit of a bottleneck most of the time.

"It's stressful for them and it's stressful for us, especially when you know you can help them and they're just sitting there, stuck as a name on a list."

While Ms Trengove said that universities are "doing their best" with the introduction of more course options and pathways, she one day hopes that this training will deliver more speech therapists across the wider community.

"The more that awareness grows, of the importance of this in our community, then everyone is invested in their own capacity to support children," she said.

"That's the message - raising the profile, in combination with more specialist training - because the communication, development and nurturing of children, is everyone's business."

In the interim, free speech and language programs are available via the Learn2Communicate website, where families can download and access information under the "resources" tab.

With the current waiting jam, parents and carers can find useful tools to implement in the home, prior to accessing professional support.

Learn2Communicate platforms on Facebook and Instagram, also share helpful videos, more resources and links to activities for parents, early childhood educators and teachers.

Across both public and private options, specialist telehealth appointments are also growing popular as an alternative option, with Speech Pathology Australia offering a portal to find a therapist nearby.

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