Informative: Speech pathology specialist Sarah McKee speaks with Twin Rivers Specialist School students Paige and Angela.
Photo by
Michael Lloyd
Speech does not come easy to everyone.
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But Echuca Twin Rivers Specialist School has a hero who is helping give a voice to youngsters.
Sarah McKee spoke of her role at the school as part of Speech Pathology Week, which runs from August 20 to 26.
“I had the opportunity to visit the hospital and try some professions like social work, speech pathology, occupational therapy and I went along and ended up loving speech pathology,” she said.
“I’ve worked at Echuca Regional Health for 18 years and I’ve taken a year’s leave from the hospital this year to come and work at the specialist school.”
All aboard: Large communication boards ensure all students at Twin Rivers help one another communicate clearly and confidently.
Photo by
Michael Lloyd
Mrs McKee said her role as a speech pathologist is vast, and spoke of a new project which has resonated with students.
“This week, we’ve introduced the communication banners to our playground, and of course, it’s blown up on our school website and Facebook,” she said.
“I can fairly say that parents greatly appreciate what we do at school, even requesting versions of the banners to be sent home with the students.”
Mrs McKee said the main aim of the school was to build confidence among its students.
“For our students, it can be quite frustrating when there’s something that they want to get across and they’re finding it hard to do that,” she said.
“It’s extremely rewarding to be able to give them the needed opportunities to have a voice and especially if a child can’t communicate with you.
“It’s an incredible thing for our staff as well, because they’ve been with these children for years, seeing the growth in the students and the journey that you go on with them is very satisfying.”
Twin Rivers students Paige and Angela said the new communication banners had been of great assistance.
“We really enjoy being part of the program, it’s a lot of fun,” Angela said.
“The community banners help students, and our teachers communicate with each other.”
“On Mondays we get to go to a group with Sarah and play Emotion Memory,” Paige said.
Emotion Memory is a game where you match worded emotions to a character’s expressions, helping the students recognise the feelings of their peers.
Mrs McKee said the opportunity to work at Twin Rivers had resulted in one of the most fulfilling chapters of her career.
“It’s been an absolutely wonderful experience being here and been fantastic being able to concentrate my efforts on the communication needs of all of the students at Twin Rivers Specialist School,” she said.
“I would love to be here long term, so we’ll just have to see how that pans out in the years to come.”
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