At Monash Health, we believe communication is a human right.
That’s why, in celebration of Speech Pathology Week, we’d like to take the opportunity to thank and celebrate our amazing speech pathologists who make this possible.
Subacute Speech Pathologist Thea Johnstone, who has been working as a speech pathologist for four and a half years at Monash Health, said she was drawn to the field because she wanted to make a real difference in people’s lives on an individual level.
“I love working in rehabilitation, particularly with people with aphasia which is a language-based communication disability most commonly caused by stroke,” she said.
“People with aphasia can have difficulty talking and understanding but with appropriate communication, support and education, I can help to reveal their competence and increase their participation.”Subacute Speech Pathologist Thea Johnstone is passionate about helping people effectively communicate.Every single person deserves the ability to communicate with others, and with 1.2 million Australians living with a communication disability, Thea said this couldn’t be more important.
“People with a communication disability should be enabled to participate in their healthcare and everyday activities,” she said.
The theme of this year’s awareness week is “Good Communication, Better Communities”, which Thea said couldn’t be truer.
“Communication is key to our relationships, activities and quality of life,” she said.
“It means connection to our family, our friends, our work and our communities.”
Thank you again to all Monash Health’s speech pathologists who provide outstanding care to support people living with communication disabilities and swallowing impairment (dysphagia).
