Deep into the pandemic, Ms Gild said her work had undoubtedly had its challenges but she has surprised herself a little in adapting - and her clients have been a bit surprised too, in the progress they have made.

This Speech Pathology Week, the theme is communication is everyone's right. Ms Gild said it was a particularly important message during prolonged pandemic restrictions and one people should not take for granted.

"It's not just speech but an iPad app or technology device to help communication," Ms Gild said. "The important thing is all communication is valued and everyone has a right to communicate.

"We've had to shift to telehealth but this year a lot more people are willing to try it. People know we're going to be in and out of lockdown and who knows exactly for how long. It's nice to see a few clients surprised to see how well their child is doing or how they are doing with telehealth."

Ms Gild is a speech therapist with OT Dynamics. She said in-person therapy is still often the way to get the best from clients but moving in and out of lockdowns had challenged her to be more creative overall.

While Ms Gild has found most children were used to online sessions, due to home learning, engagement was a key hurdle, especially with teenagers who tended to be more self-conscious on the screen.

"The key to telehealth has been keeping sessions a little shorter. There's a much bigger cognitive load staring at a screen even when you try to break up sessions with physical activity - it's hard to tell kids to get up and shake without looking at the screen," Ms Gild said.

"Telehealth takes a lot more planning and resources. You can have tabs open and ready to go but you always need back-ups. Sometimes it might be tricky for a child or adult to engage or there might be a technology glitch.

"You just have to be flexible and adapt."

IN OTHER NEWS

About 1.2 million Australians live with a communication disability, according to Speech Pathology Australia, and such disability is largely invisible. Ms Gild said such disability could be in speech, language or in swallowing difficulties.

Speech pathologists work to ensure everyone can communicate with confidence.

Ms Gild said the pandemic had definitely created hurdles but speech pathology was important and could offer so many benefits to people and being connected within their communities.

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