Our initiative
Our Communication Currency for Kids initiative operates on a pay-it-forward basis. It is funded from 100% of financial contributions we receive from impact partners and from 100% of fees we receive for initial appointments.
Our initiative presently supports the two subsidies and the free screening programme below.
Our initiative presently supports the two subsidies and the free screening programme below.
Subsidies for eligible children and families
We recognise that cost can be a barrier to accessing an appropriate level of service for many families and are therefore offering the following two subsidies:
$40 initial appointment
Eligibility for this Front-end Subsidy is automatically assessed when families book now. This is a high-trust subsidy intended for families who do not have access to any outside funding to cover the cost of speech-language therapy at the time of their initial appointment AND whose children fall into the following vulnerability categories:
Sliding scale fees based on material standard of living
This Back-stop Subsidy is also intended for families who do not have access to any outside funding to help pay for the cost of speech-language therapy. This can be a short term subsidy while families test their eligibility for other potentially available funding. It can also be a longer term subsidy to help pay for the cost of ongoing speech-language therapy, if for some reason that other funding ultimately does not become available. Where appropriate and desired, we can discuss and and help families apply for this subsidy
To ensure subsidy decisions are as objective and consistent as possible, all families who apply for the Back-stop Subsidy will be asked to provide basic details regarding their household size, household income, and material wellbeing in order to establish their standard of living in relation to the material hardship measure and the thresholds that Statistics NZ uses to measure child poverty.
$40 initial appointment
Eligibility for this Front-end Subsidy is automatically assessed when families book now. This is a high-trust subsidy intended for families who do not have access to any outside funding to cover the cost of speech-language therapy at the time of their initial appointment AND whose children fall into the following vulnerability categories:
- Very young children (under 5)
- Maori and Pasifika children
- Children living in a sole-parent family
- Children living in (severe and persistent) poverty
Sliding scale fees based on material standard of living
This Back-stop Subsidy is also intended for families who do not have access to any outside funding to help pay for the cost of speech-language therapy. This can be a short term subsidy while families test their eligibility for other potentially available funding. It can also be a longer term subsidy to help pay for the cost of ongoing speech-language therapy, if for some reason that other funding ultimately does not become available. Where appropriate and desired, we can discuss and and help families apply for this subsidy
To ensure subsidy decisions are as objective and consistent as possible, all families who apply for the Back-stop Subsidy will be asked to provide basic details regarding their household size, household income, and material wellbeing in order to establish their standard of living in relation to the material hardship measure and the thresholds that Statistics NZ uses to measure child poverty.
Free 4-year-old communication screening
We believe there is a duty of care to actively seek and find children with at-risk speech and language development, because a child's oral language at school entry is the greatest predictor of their success at school and in adulthood, and because early identification and early intervention lead to better outcomes for children with Developmental Communication Disorders.
We advocate that the best way to identify children at risk of Communication Disorders is through systematic, comprehensive communication screening using a standardised test specifically designed to identify these children. So, we are getting ready to launch a free, before school communication screening programme for children in the Palmerston North City Council area - watch this space!
We advocate that the best way to identify children at risk of Communication Disorders is through systematic, comprehensive communication screening using a standardised test specifically designed to identify these children. So, we are getting ready to launch a free, before school communication screening programme for children in the Palmerston North City Council area - watch this space!
Acknowledging our Te Tiriti O Waitangi obligations and shortcomings
We acknowledge that the speech-language therapy profession has a long way to go to enable equity for Maori tamariki and whanau, for example: Currently there are insufficient Maori Speech-Language Therapists, there has been inadequate research into Maori speech and language development, and there is a lack of evidence-based, culturally appropriate Maori speech and language screening and assessment tools.
Our next step in this space will be to reach out and begin actively relationship building and consulting with local iwi and whanau and with local Maori health and education services; to seek to understand what they would like speech-language therapy services for themselves and their tamariki to look like and to work toward the possibility of designing something together.
We can't wait for the collective effort to enable equitable access and equitable outcomes for ALL children / tamariki with Communication Disorders, and for there to be financial backing to fund critical Te Reo Maori research and offer scholarships for Maori speech-language therapy students to create that there are Maori assessment methods, Maori speech and language norms, and Maori Kaiwhakatikatika Reo Korero to work with Maori tamariki and their whanau!
Our next step in this space will be to reach out and begin actively relationship building and consulting with local iwi and whanau and with local Maori health and education services; to seek to understand what they would like speech-language therapy services for themselves and their tamariki to look like and to work toward the possibility of designing something together.
We can't wait for the collective effort to enable equitable access and equitable outcomes for ALL children / tamariki with Communication Disorders, and for there to be financial backing to fund critical Te Reo Maori research and offer scholarships for Maori speech-language therapy students to create that there are Maori assessment methods, Maori speech and language norms, and Maori Kaiwhakatikatika Reo Korero to work with Maori tamariki and their whanau!
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0508 SPEECHIE (0508 77 33 24) - [email protected]
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