What is a Speech Pathologist?
Speech pathologists help people communicate effectively and manage difficulties with eating and drinking. They are university-educated allied health professionals who work with people of all ages.
Speech pathologists assist those who experience:
- • Difficulty understanding and expressing themselves in conversations
- • Challenges with reading, spelling, and using technology to communicate
- • Issues with speaking clearly, finding the right words, or using a strong voice
- • Problems with eating and drinking, including swallowing difficulties that affect nutrition and safety
Services Provided
SPEECH PATHOLOGY EXPERTISE
I offer assessment and management of speech, language, and swallowing disorders for adults, including support for:
- • Progressive neurological conditions such as:
- • Parkinson’s disease
- • Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP)
- • Motor Neuron Disease (MND)
- • Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
- • Huntington’s disease
- • Myasthenia Gravis
- • Multiple System Atrothy
- • Stroke rehabilitation
- • Dementia care, including Alzheimer’s, Vascular,
and Fronto-Temporal Dementias - • Acquired Brain Injury rehabilitation
- • Palliative Care
- • Aphasia treatment, including Primary Progressive Aphasia
- • Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) therapy, including eye gaze technology for complex communication needs
Service Areas
- • Therapy at home, via telehealth, or within hospital settings
- • Aged care service provision, including residential aged care facilities
- • Collaboration with other healthcare professionals for multidisciplinary care
- • Mobile speech pathology services across Brisbane, including the Western suburbs
Funding Options
- • Self-managed and plan-managed participants with the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
- • Medicare clients
- • Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) clients
- • Private Health Fund members
- • Clients funded by various Aged Care Providers
Signs of Needing Support
Signs of Communication Impairment
People with a communication
impairment may experience:
- • Trouble initiating conversations
- • Difficulty speaking clearly or maintaining a strong voice
- • Challenges explaining thoughts or finding the right words
- • Problems participating in conversations appropriately
- • Difficulty with reading, writing, understanding, and memory
Signs of Eating, Drinking, and Swallowing Difficulties
Swallowing difficulties can include:
- • Struggling to bring food or drink to the mouth
- • Food or drink spilling from the mouth
- • Difficulty chewing
- • Coughing or choking while eating or drinking
- • Food or fluids coming out of the nose
- • Loss of interest in eating and drinking
- • Not recognising how to process food in the mouth
- • Difficulty swallowing medications
- • Frequent, unexplained chest infections
