Speechability

Services

It starts with understanding.

Understanding your child, so that your child can be understood.

We study, assess, diagnose and treat communication disorders, including difficulties with speech, language, fluency and voice. We deliver our services in plain English and work with children who may have difficulty communicating because of:

  • Developmental delays,
  • Articulation/Speech sound difficulties
  • Stuttering
  • Lisps
  • Comprehension, spelling, reading & literacy skills
  • Specific learning disorders
  • Intellectual disabilities,
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder
  • Hearing difficulties
  • Feeding & swallowing issues

We follow a 3 stage process:

 

1. A 15 minute ‘Discovery’ phone call

2. Formal Assessment and/or prior assessment review

3. Therapy

 

 

Discovery Call

 

Our unique process, begins with a simple pre-assessment call, to help us begin the diagnosis straight away, so that when we meet, ‘we hit the ground running. During this call, we answer any questions you might have, listen to your needs, take time to gain an understanding of what you are looking for.  After the Discovery call, your child will be booked in for formal assessment using industry standard.

 

Assessment

 

Depending on your child’s presenting concern, a combination of both informal and formal assessments may be used. The first appointment together is a detailed process, resulting in a comprehensive diagnosis and action plan for the future.

 

Therapy Sessions

 

After we have assessed your child, we create an individualised therapy plan to suit your child’s needs and to achieve their goals.

 

We practice both at the clinic, via telehealth (online) and at schools across the Central Coast.

 

Examples of what we do include:

 

  • Giving feeding advice to a mother whose baby has a cleft palate
  • Working with children who are difficult to understand in a child care centre
  • Teaching an intellectually delayed child how to be understood
  • Helping a primary school student understand what their teacher is telling them
  • Working with a high school student with a stutter to speak more fluently and with confidence
  • Providing communication strategies and assistive devices for a child with cerebral palsy who cannot communicate verbally
  • Teaching a child to swallow safely and without choking
  • Assisting children and adults who have difficulties learning to read
  • Helping an autistic child with communication aids and techniques
For more information on each type of issue we treat see below.

Articulation/Speech and Sound

Speech sound difficulties are different to language difficulties.

 

It is when children have trouble producing the correct sound/s in words. They will often:

 

  • Substitute the target sound for an easier sound
  • Delete the target sound altogether or
  • Incorrectly place their tongue or lips whilst making a speech sound.

Speech sound difficulties can make it very difficult for familiar and unfamiliar listeners to understand what a child is trying to say. It can be extremely frustrating for children because they are unable to get their message across clearly.

Stuttering

Stuttering is when the flow of speech is interrupted by repeated movements and fixed postures. It commonly is seen in children before they turn 6 years old. Approximately 1-2% of people are affected by stuttering. Children will often have a normal period of speech and language development prior to a sudden onset of stuttering. It can be quite distressing for parents to see the sudden change. 10% of children recover naturally from stuttering. Due to the challenges of not being able to predict who will naturally recover from stuttering, immediate early intervention using evidence-based treatment programs by a speech pathologist is highly recommended for all children who start to present with a stutter. 

 

Stuttering can look different for each child. Some of the different types of stuttering are:

  • Syllable repetitions- “I…I…I…”
  • Whole word repetitions- “The…the…the…”
  • Multiple word repetitions- “She goes…she goes…she goes…”
  • Fixed postures- the first sound of a word gets stuck and won’t come out straight away. For example, “………when are we going?”
  • Prolongations- “wwwwwwwwwwhich shoes do I need to out on?”

Developmental Language Delays

Language difficulties can present when children have trouble using spoken language (expressive) to express their message and/or they are unable to understand spoken language (receptive). If you have concerns about your child not progressing along as well as their peers, Speechability can help you. Speechability use standardised assessments to identify language delays and the specific areas requiring intervention. It is important to seek help as soon as possible.

Autism & Social Communication

 

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder can have challenges learning how to communicate and express themselves socially. These social (also known as pragmatic) language difficulties can impact on participation and activity levels in various situations. Social communication difficulties refer to the increased challenges using verbal and nonverbal communication skills in social settings.

 

Children’s difficulties may include:

 

  • Using language to socialise. This includes initiating and maintaining conversations, staying on topic, and talking about topics other than their favourite interest.
  • Not knowing how to use or understand both verbal and nonverbal cues. This includes voice control, tone, and body language.
  • Not knowing how to interpret nonliteral language (similes, metaphors, and personification).

Comprehension, Reading, Spelling & Listening

Literacy difficulties are often found once children start school. Some of the common literacy skill difficulties include:

  • Phonemic awareness (the ability to recognise, segment, delete, and blend sounds in words)
  • Rhyme words
  • Blend a string of sounds together to make a word
  • Separate specific sounds from words
  • Decode during reading
  • Understand the meaning of particular words
  • Remember a thread of words and understand their meaning.

Speechability will determine the appropriate assessment and intervention to use, depending on the child’s age, skill level and individual needs

Feeding and Swallowing

Feeding and swallowing difficulties can arise due to motor and/or sensory issues. Some of the difficulties may include:

 

  • Poor sucking, coughing/gagging, dribbling during breastfeeds, and bottle feeds.
  • Difficulty chewing or gagging whilst eating.
  • Refusal of particular food textures
  • Fussy eating.

Online Sessions/Tele-health

We also hold online video call sessions if you would prefer. We call these ‘telehealth’ appointments and are done using ZOOM, TEAMS or similar.