Barriers to access paediatric speech pathology services limit rural and remote consumers' usage of health services, regardless of need, indicating a possible inequity if compared to larger, more accessible urban areas.

This paper describes the results of a survey that explored the experiences of carers when accessing rehabilitative services alongside their family member with a moderate-severe TBI. The 184 carers who completed these surveys reflected retrospectively on the care they received. The results of this study indicated that 61% of the carer respondents recollected accessing inpatient rehabilitation following their acute care. However, following inpatient discharge only 33% of carers reported receiving ongoing services. One quarter of carers stated they received inadequate information while transitioning through their healthcare journey and fewer than 20% of carers recollected receiving any formal support service. The results of this study showed that as carers transitioned through the healthcare journey with their family member with TBI, health services progressively declined. As this occurred, carers' satisfaction with services reduced, while their responsibilities for caring increased. This trend is concerning given the needs of carers have been shown to change over time and increase if not addressed. This paper describes both carer experience following TBI in Australia and encourages clinicians to advocate for carers needs when planning and providing rehabilitation services.

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This paper investigates the continuum of care experienced by adults and their significant others following a moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Victoria, Australia. Clinical care guidelines exist defining best practice in TBI rehabilitation, but little is currently known about the experiences of those who sustain a TBI, their needs and the barriers they encounter when attempting to access services. This paper presents the journeys of 202 Victorians admitted for acute care following a moderate to severe TBI over 4 years. Results of this study indicate very few participants report receiving services in line with recommendations made in clinical care guidelines. In addition reported access to services was noted to vary according to allocated healthcare funding (i.e., compensable vs. private vs. public). Clinicians' consideration of healthcare consumers' experiences are essential if services provided are to match consumers' needs.

This commentary aims to extend the debate of the lead article authors (Wylie, McAllister, Davidson, and Marshall, 2013) by translating the nine recommendations of the World Report on Disability into a plan of action for the aphasia community. Solutions for the advancement of aphasia science and services are presented at international (macro), national (meso), and local (micro) levels. Implications for speech-language pathologists and aphasia service delivery are discussed. An overarching call to action is the need for speech-language pathologists to support a strong and vibrant aphasia community at all levels, so that the voices of people with aphasia can be heard.