As Cambodia’s first internationally trained and accredited speech pathologist, Samnang Chan (MSpPath ’21) is making it her life’s mission to address a critical area of unmet health need in her home country. Her work supports children with communication and learning difficulties to improve their ability to participate in education and everyday life, while also helping parents and teachers identify and assist children requiring help, resulting in a positive ripple effect of wellbeing and social inclusion.

“From primary school age, I wanted to be a health professional,” Samnang says.

“But I couldn’t pursue that due to many reasons, and I ended up becoming a teacher. However, my desire to pursue the health profession remained and I did my first masters degree in Cambodia, then I applied for an Australia Awards Scholarship, which I received.

“I realised my dream of becoming a health professional and came back to my country to support children dealing with communication issues. Not many people realise the importance of speech pathology in this area, so I began running a practice.”

In Cambodia, many individuals who have trouble communicating have limited access to diagnosis or therapy due to a shortage of trained professionals. By delivering culturally appropriate speech pathology services in their own language, Samnang provides much needed accessibility for local communities.

“I like to train teachers and parents, but will still carry on providing direct services to children, while also developing material in my language to support teachers,” she says.

“I already have some material, but not yet enough. My biggest goal is I want to have a course in Cambodia, like a university degree for speech psychology with a local professional leading the course, running the course, and providing knowledge to Cambodians.

“And I believe now, in the last four years or so, more and more people know about this new area of practice.”

Samnang is also part of the Cambodian Developmental Milestone Assessment Tool (cDMAT) Core Group. Based on their research, the CDMAT Core Group created a developmental milestone assessment tool that is culturally and environmental specific to Cambodian children.

The members of the cDMAT Core Group work towards the common goal of improving, maintaining and disseminating the cDMAT and its ‘spin-off’, the CB-DMAT.

“The Ministry of Education recognises the importance of speech and I have already worked cooperatively with them to run a consultation room for children who need the services. Now they have started to offer this service for free, so this is another part of my job I’m proud of, additional to my private practice.”

Samnang’s volunteer work at the National Maternal and Children Health Center has provided training to more than 2000 general parents, plus specialised therapy to children from all walks of life. This is all part of her advocacy to raise the importance of speech pathology as a profession in Cambodia.

Through clinical excellence, community engagement, and a strong commitment to knowledge transfer, Samnang not only elevates her profession but also improves quality of life for children with communication needs and their communities.

By advocating for those who often lack a voice and helping to build systems of care where none previously existed, Samnang is contributing to broader social inclusion and equity and making impacts in Cambodia that will positively affect the county for many years into the future.

“Visiting Flinders again one day is on my list, as well doing another degree,” Samnang says.

“There are a lot of things for me to do right now, but I just want to go further in life so that I can support more people but also work to upgrade myself as well in the future.

“Before pursuing my personal achievements, I want to give more to the children of my country. They are before me, then I’ll go back to Flinders.”

 

Samnang Chan was awarded a 2026 Distinguished Alumni Award for significant contributions to speech pathology and community health, building professional capacity and advancing culturally responsive care to improve communication outcomes for children and families in Cambodia.