What have you achieved in this project so far?

The Wangi project builds on work aimed at enhancing access to brain injury rehabilitation services for Aboriginal people. Key features of the rehabilitation model included home visiting, therapy delivered jointly by a speech pathologist and an Aboriginal research assistant/co-worker, and delivering therapy via the medium of yarning. The rehabilitation model we trialled and also the therapy approach that was used were found to be feasible and acceptable to both the people who took part and their therapists. The study provides direction to improve the quality of care for Aboriginal stroke survivors.

Yarning is such a great word. What does it mean to you in the context of this project?

Yarning is an Indigenous form of conversation and story-telling that has been practiced by Aboriginal peoples for centuries. Within this project the use of a yarning framework created a culturally secure space for individuals involved in the project to communicate and tell their stories. Aboriginal participants reported positive experiences as they undertook therapy that was focused on things that mattered to them and could be conveyed in a way that was culturally familiar and involved another Aboriginal person as a conversation partner.

What aspect of this research excites you the most?

As a clinician, being be able to work closely with Aboriginal people with communication disorders, and have the time to hear their stories and learn more about their experiences, whilst providing therapy at the same time has been exciting. As a researcher, being able to develop a rehabilitation model and an approach to therapy that is accessible to Aboriginal stroke survivors, and enables them to talk more and improve their communicative ability post-stroke is an important step.

How and when will this work impact patient/client care?

Analysis of the Wangi project is well underway and is expected to be published in 2019. Findings have already been presented with positive feedback from clinicians which augers well for the translation of the model and therapy approach into client care. Further testing of the model and therapy trailed in the Wangi project is needed and has been extended to two new studies.

What was your biggest challenge during this research?

People living with acquired communication disorders after a stroke are often isolated from community services and from regular avenues of information sharing. We put a lot of effort into identifying people to participate in the Wangi project. As a key component of the model we also focused on the relationship between the two people delivering the therapy – the speech pathologist and research assistant.

What did you learn about yourself from this project?

I have learned more about listening to the other person, to use and be comfortable with sitting in silence and about sharing some of my stories with others within a clinical or research context.

What’s your Holy Grail – the one thing you’d like to achieve in your research career?

I would like to see our research findings translated into practice resulting in greater access to brain injury rehabilitation services for Aboriginal people irrespective of the person’s location. I would also like to see more research being developed and led by Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander people. Lastly, I want to be able contribute to a body of work that determines the active ingredients for aphasia therapy so that we can show what type of treatment, provided with what dosage is key for recovery and work out how we apply these principles to each individual in their broader life and cultural context.

Who has inspired you in work or life?

I am inspired by people who live their life their way and push against boundaries to achieve in areas that are important to them and in doing so make a difference to those around them. It means I am inspired by different people in my day to day life whether that is someone who is well known for the success in their field, people who quietly get on with making a difference or who are living through unimaginable challenges. I am also inspired by my Grandfather who is always learning and who, at 95, still goes to the library to borrow books to expand his knowledge.

Describe a perfect day for you.

At work it would mean having time to write and to meet with research colleagues to progress projects and analyse research findings. Outside of work a perfect day would be being able to sleep in and then do whatever I feel like across the day without a set agenda or a to-do list.