Speaking and/or hearing problems affect many people's ability to communicate. This can cause personal embarrassment and affect family, social and working life.
Speech Pathologists from the Department of Health and Families are holding a two-day "Sing and Sign" workshop from 10.00 am today at Central Australian Aboriginal Congress to make communication easier for people who find it difficult.
DHF Speech Pathologist Louise Taylor said the workshop coincides with Speech Pathology Week (23-29 August)-the theme of which is "communicate to participate".
Ms Taylor said they were hoping the workshop would teach Centralians some basic sign language as another method of communicating with one another.
"The benefit of sign language is that it is entirely visual and made up of very natural gestures. You can take it with you wherever you go and a lot of people use it.
"By educating children with sign language we can overcome the barriers of not being able to communicate with others," said Ms Taylor.
For more information on Speech Pathology visit the Department of Health and Families stall at Yeperenye Shopping Centre this week, call 8922 7466 or visit: http://www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au
Media contact: Cameron Jackson 0401 114 113