Are we meeting the needs of vulnerable children? Distribution of speech-language pathology services on the Gold Coast, Australia

Abstract

Background: Compared to national averages, the Gold Coast, Australia, has a proportionately higher number of children entering their first year of primary school with 'at risk' or 'vulnerable' language skills. This paper investigates the distribution of paediatric speech-language pathology (SLP) services on the Gold Coast, relative to children's language and cognitive skills, and socioeconomic status (SES). Methods: SLP service locations were identified through national association data and a manual search and mapped against SES and Australian Early Development Census data, for language and cognitive skills. Results: Data for 7595 children was included, with 943 (12.4%) at risk and 780 (12.6%) vulnerable for language and cognitive skills. A total of 75 SLPs were identified (85.3% private, 14.6% public), which is 1 SLP to every 23 children who might have current or impending speech, language and communication needs. Fewer services were available in areas where vulnerable children were located and most were private providers, leading to further potential barriers to service access. Conclusions: The number of SLP services located on the Gold Coast is inadequate to meet the needs of children with language and cognitive skill vulnerabilities. Consideration of how services might be distributed is explored and warrants further consideration.