Start planning now.  SLTs had a fantastic time for Awareness Day in 2010.  In 2011 it will be Awareness Week, 18 - 22 July 2011.

2010 SLT Awareness Day

2010 SLT Awareness Day was held on Friday 20th August 2010. 

 Activities from around the Country - 2010

• The team at A+ Links Home Health designed a quiz for SLT Awareness Day which e-mailed out to all the residential care facilities in the district.  And then they baked a morning tea for the winners!  The quiz is available here.  Capital and Coast District Health Board used this quiz and sent it to every rest home in the region.
• Two speech therapy practices, Therapy for Children and Voice Culture offered 15 minute free speech consultations .
• Dunedin Hospital had a 'Silent' Morning Tea.  Participants were required to use alternative forms of communication (pictures will be added).  They also enjoyed a speechie breakfast at Nova cafe.
• In Northland the Ministry of Education SLTs and Northland Kindergarten Association SLTs provided to almost every ECE centre in the Whangarei/Dargaville area information on typical speech and language development, as well as a poster of strategies to help encourage children’s language. Centres were very grateful and a few copiedthe language facilitation strategies information and sent home to all their families! Posters were up in shop windows in Whangarei. Four people have expressed interest in finding out more about SLT as a career; one spent time with an SLT, two have enrolled for 2011, and one decided it was not for her.
• Rehab Plus held a soup day where people tried all sorts of different consistencies of food and drink for their lunch. They got T-shirts printed with the slogan “Talk, eat, listen” and put up bunting all over the place. They also placed a small article in the ADHB newsletter.
• Philippa Williams and the team at Counties Manukau District Health Board used a footer on all of their e-mails in the lead up to Awareness Day

  Communication is Key - Speak to your Speechie'

  Speech and Language Therapy Awareness Day 20th August 2010

• Dr Dean Sutherland (President) was interviewed on 98.5FM in Christchurch 
• The kitchen staff at Grey Base Hospital baked biscuits in recogniton of the work of the SLT team and gave them away to customers.  They iced them with a speech mark on each biscuit - they were a great hit with staff and visitors alike.
• Johan Langfield was interviewed for an article in a Nelson paper Speech therapist talking the talk    
• Susan Helmore displayed the posters around Wanaka in places where there is a lot of foot traffic and was interviewed for a local paper raising awareness of what SLT’s do as well. Awareness Day in Wanaka
• There was an Interview with a mystery SLT in Dunedin
• The SLT team at Christchurch Hospital held an SLTea Party - pictures to follow.  Speech language therapists' work highlighted is a newspaper item about it 

2009 SLT Awareness Day

2009 SLT Awareness Day was held on 28th August 2009 with the theme "Time to Talk".

Activities From Around The Country - 2009

• Shannon Doherty and the team at North Shore Hospital spent time talking to staff, passing round thickened fluids, and showing a videofluoroscopy on the laptop. A staff quiz was organised and ran throughout the week with prizes and posters.
• Sarah Exton (Waitemata DHB) was interviewed for an article that appeared in the North Shore Times.
• Students at Massey University’s Albany campus ran a sausage sizzle and the students had lots of fun ordering their sausages, onions, tomato sauce, and mustard using the communication devices.  They even got a chocolate if they managed to use correct syntax!   A raffle was held to raise money for KiwiChat Camp.
• Michelle Bonetti (MoreTalk, Whangarei) managed to get airtime, not once but twice with Classic Hits and More FM, and had a photo shoot with the “Northern Advocate” for a “Northlander at work” feature – great work Michelle!
• Melody De Burgh (Hawkes Bay, DHB) appeared in the “Hawkes Bay Today” newspaper with a client who had a cleft palate.
• The team at Waikato DHB organised some excellent dysphagia product “boat races” along with some great SLT posters.  Some great photos of this and their fantastic t-shirts.
• Christchurch Hospital had a “Where’s Speechy?” Day with SLT’s dressed like “Where’s Wally”, posters throughout the hospital, a quiz, and ta display in the foyer. They also used Awareness Day to launch their Department’s new branding.  The media coverage included 1 local and 1 national radio interview, a local TV interview, an article in the Christchurch Press and an item in the DHB publication.
• Dunedin Hospital SLTs turned purple giving away stickers, pamphlets and information in order to highlight the excellent work of speech-language therapists.
• Elissa Owens and the team at Christchurch Ministry of Education office organised a quiz and prize giving ceremony for 160 staff.
• Katie Stretton, a Masters student at The University of Auckland, organised an announcement by the ZM breakfast show team. The station claims an audience of around 378,000 listeners.  Fantastic!
• Carla Darling-Knott and Carole Wagstaff were interviewed on a local Whakatane radio about speech-language therapy and Awareness Day.
• Colette Maier (Not Only Words, Auckland) produced and marketed a set of cycle clothing with a dominant speech Therapy theme. Colette also took this marketing opportunity to tell many people about speech-language therapy.
• The Bay of Plenty SLTs banded together with patients and clients to spend the day at the Bay City Mall informing many people about the benefits of speech-language therapy. A wonderful sense of camaraderie was reported with some excellent photographs of the day.
• Carolyn Grace and Jo Davies managed to organise an announcement on the Ministry of Education website and a comment from the Secretary of Education, Karen Sewell who stated “The ability to communicate is fundamental to children’s development and their ability to engage with the world around them. Our therapists provide an important and valuable service for children who experience communication difficulties.” Great work Carolyn and Jo!
• Carolien, Kate, Nicky and Sharon at Greenlane Hospital who celebrated with posters and cake (a common theme around the country!). The team also managed to get an article in the Manukau Courier which was printed and available online.
• Therapy for Children SLT’s, Libby Tapley and Sofia Hansrod, held an open day so that people could come and see what SLT’s do and ran information sessions.  Libby got an article in the local papers along with a great photo blowing bubbles!

Thank you to EVERYONE who made time to talk! Your efforts are appreciated.

Photographs

Some photographs showing some of the fun from around the country are available here Awareness Day Photographs 2009.

If you have any photographs to share please send them to Shona at nzsta@speechtherapy.org.nz

Media Coverage Prize

A media prize of $300 was up for grabs for a workplace or individual receiving outstanding media coverage surrounding Awareness Day 2009:

• variety of media coverage (e.g. number and type of media exposure - newspapers, internet, radio, or TV)
• breadth of coverage (e.g. local vs. national circulation)
• impact of coverage (e.g. front page or novelty / creativeness)

and the winner for 2009 was Christchurch Hospital SLT Department.

Encouraged by new recruit Sara Moore, the entire team entered into the spirit of Awareness Day with enthusiasm. They ran a very innovative campaign and managed to get

in early and secure display rights to the foyer at Christchurch Hospital. They ran a “Where’s Speechy?” Day with SLT’s dressed like “Where’s Wally”, posters throughout

the hospital, a quiz, and the display in the foyer. They also used Awareness Day to launch their Department’s new branding.

The media coverage included:

– Tika Ormond and Nicky Mason participated in radio interviews (1 local and 1 national)

– 1 local TV interview

– an article in the Christchurch Press

– an item in the DHB publication

– morning tea with the General Manager

    and… plenty of cake.”

See the photo of the presentation of the Award (courtesy of CDHB) at Media Coverage Award presentation 2009

Resources

• SLT Awareness Day public information letter
• Awareness Day Poster #1
• Awareness Day Poster #2