A world-first trial of a parenting program has been run in Tasmania's Mary Hutchinson Women's Prison. The charity behind it says that if convicted criminals stay connected with their families they are less likely to re-offend. It can be hard enough learning to read and write, imagine having to do it in jail. About a third of Australia's prisoners have not completed Year 10. This has inspired a speech pathologist in Tasmania to go into jails to help improve literacy levels and get prisoners into jobs.

Talking to Rosalie Martin, Speech Pathology Australia

This is the Department of Education’s ambitious, yet realistic goal for all students. Speech and language pathologists (SLPs) are an integral part of reaching this goal, which has been identified as part of the Literacy Framework’s Action Plan.  It relates to Action 2 of the framework, which has been my focus and passion this year: to build on the collaborative culture between speech and language pathologists and educators for a more coherent approach to improve oral, augmentative and alternative communication.