World Voice Day is an opportunity for us to celebrate the work of our dedicated Speech Pathologists who work to ensure everyone can communicate with confidence. The theme for World Voice Day 2022 is: lift your voice.
We caught up with Eye and Ear Speech Pathologist, Lucy Bath, to chat about her role and the importance of Speech Pathology. Lucy has been working with us since late 2019 and began her career in regional New South Wales in both acute care and rehabilitation, before moving to Melbourne to specialise in voice.
What is your favourite part of your job?
The connection you make with people who entrust you with something so precious as their voice.
What are some common misperceptions about Speech Pathology?
That we are accent trainers! Or we only treat people’s speech. Speech Pathologists work with language, swallowing, fluency (stuttering) and voice. These are all essential functions that we take for granted until they go wrong.
What is one thing you’d like to let patients know this Speech Pathology Week?
That voice is not just about singers and performers. A considerable proportion of the working population uses their voice to do their job. Whether it’s a zoom presentation, serving a customer, or caring for a patient, our voice is an essential part of communication. We need to look after it.
Do you have any fun or interesting facts about Speech Pathology?
- More than 97% of speech pathologists are women
- Speech is a wonder! To say a phrase, about 100 muscles of the chest, neck, jaw, tongue, and lips must collaborate. This takes coordination of many more neurons than is needed for contracting the muscles in an athletes’ foot.
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