Speech Pathology Services

Often the terms ‘speech’ and ‘language’ are misunderstood or confused, however it’s important to know that speech and language are different, and your child may be having difficulty in one or both areas.

Simply put speech is how we say sounds and words using our mouth, tongue and lips. Language is what we say, the words and sentences that we use. Language can be further broken down to receptive language which is our ability to understand the words and sentences that people speak to us, and expressive language which is our ability to share our own ideas, thoughts and feelings using words and sentences.

I have experience with the assessment and intervention of preschoolers and school aged children with the following speech sound disorders:

• Articulation errors, e.g. lisp

• Phonological errors, e.g. rule-based errors that affect more than just one sound

• Motor speech errors, e.g. difficulties with the muscles or difficulty planning the movements for speech

I have completed further training using the technique of PROMPT (Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets).

I am particularly interested in working with ‘Late Talkers’. A “Late Talker” is a toddler (between 18-30 months) who has good understanding of language, typically developing play skills, motor skills, thinking skills, and social skills, but has a limited spoken vocabulary for his or her age. Treatment for these children is always play-based and fun and involves a collaborative approach with caregivers.

Stuttering is a speech disorder that causes interruptions in the rhythm or flow of speech. The exact cause of stuttering is still unclear despite large amounts of research. It is however thought to be caused by differences in brain activity related to speech production. Stuttering usually starts during the preschool years at around 3 years of age. It may start gradually over days, weeks or months, or it can be sudden, over hours or a day.

Currently the Lidcombe Program treatment intervention has the strongest evidence for reducing stuttering in children under the age of 6 years. There is also some research to support use of this program with primary school age children. I have completed additional training and am experienced with the assessment and treatment of stuttering in pre-schoolers using the Lidcombe Program.

Treatment for stuttering in teenagers is very different to the approach used for preschoolers and instead focuses on changing stuttered speech using speech restructuring techniques and addressing the anxiety that may accompany stuttering. I am experienced with the assessment and treatment of stuttering in teenagers using the Camperdown Program.

About 10% of school children have difficulties with reading and writing. There are various reasons why children experience challenges with reading and writing including medical difficulties such as hearing problems, disability, or intellectual impairment, or due to an underlying speech and/or language difficulties. Some children struggle due to interruptions in their schooling, or because they are learning English as a second language.

As the experts in supporting children with communication difficulties, Speech Pathologists are a useful part of any literacy team, including those supporting children with dyslexia. Dyslexia means difficulties with learning to read.

I have completed additional training using the ‘Sounds-Write’ literacy program. Sounds-Write is a highly structured, cumulative, sequential, explicit, and code-oriented instructional program for teaching all children to read and spell.