About Speech Therapy

What is a speech pathologist?

We should call them communication therapists. Speech pathologists study, diagnose and treat communication disorders. This includes difficulties with speech, language, literacy, social communication and fluency (stuttering). 

What is speech?

Speech is about how we say sounds and how easy it is to understand someone's speech.

What is literacy?

Literacy is about reading, writing, and phonological (sound) awareness.

What is language?

Language is about understanding instructions and meanings of words (receptive language) and putting words together grammatically and being understood (expressive language).

What is social language?

Social language is about using language and non-verbal communication for social interaction.

What is stuttering?

Stuttering is a speech disorder that causes disruptions in the rhythm or flow of speech. This can include repeating sounds/ words/ phrases and getting stuck on sounds.

What about Voice?

Voice changes, hoarseness or breathiness.

Swallowing and Drinking

Difficulties with swallowing and drinking are also areas that speech pathologists can help with.

What about augmentative communication?

Augmentative communication is often considered for those who are struggling to use verbal language to communication. There are a variety of augmentative tools including device apps, podd or pec systems. 

Does my child need to see a speech pathologist?

If in doubt, always come and see a therapist. They will provide you with information, do some assessment and confirm your concerns or give you peace of mind. There is no obligation to engage in therapy if it is recommended but we understand there are times we simply want to confirm our child's development. 

Some signs that your child might benefit from seeing a speech pathologist. 

If you notice some trouble with communication including:

• problems being understood by other people
• problems understanding what people say
• frustration because they can’t say what they want to say or can’t be understood by others
• a husky voice that’s hard to hear
• stuttering
• not speaking
• global delay
• difficulty with letters and sounds in Prep/ Year one

Our Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) are members of Speech Pathology Australia