Forum Anger at Delays

by Libby Hocking

May 16, 2006

Over 50 people attended a public forum organized by the Shadow Minister for Children, Barbara Scott, in Fremantle today. Mrs Scott told the forum there are almost 6400 children in WA are on waiting lists for speech therapy, occupational therapy and audiologist services. In many cases waiting times were as long as two years.

Parents expressed anger at the length of time their children had waited. Many had been forced to borrow money or take a second job in order to pay for private therapy. Prue Cameron told the forum she has been notified her son’s speech therapy would be stopped when he started year one because he was attending a Language Development Centre (LDC).

She had been forced to pay for speech therapy privately, as it was essential that her son’s therapy continue. Ms Cameron said: “I am really, really angry that Neil Fong got a $40,000 a year pay rise, but my child’s speech therapy was stopped because he was at a LDC.”

The forum was addressed by Occupational Therapist, Penny Melsom and Speech Therapist, Jenny Baker, both of whom work in the Fremantle district. Both therapists stressed the importance of early intervention, as a way of sorting out mild to moderate problems, before they became more severe and impacted on a child’s success at school.
The President of the Atwell Primary School P&C Association, Mr Shaun Menner, is co-ordinating a petition calling on the WA Legislative Council to establish a Select Committee to inquire into the waiting times for therapeutic treatment. He said there used to be a good system, but it had been eroded and children were missing out.

Local mother Jacqui Babich, told the forum she had waited 15 months for her son to be assessed by an occupational therapist. She had initially been told her son would receive assessment and treatment, but after six months she received a letter to inform her it wouldn’t happen. The letter stated that there were only three therapists for over 700 identified children from 78 schools.