Speech Pathology

Speech pathology, improve Speech communication for all ages: Inner West Sydney

Anne North is a speech pathologist who has been trained to assess and treat people who have a communication disability. She diagnoses, treats and provides management services to people of all ages with communication disorders, including speech, language, voice, fluency and literacy difficulties, or people who have physical problems with eating or swallowing.

The practice specialises in assessment and therapy for children and adolescents. Previously a high school teacher, Anne has 15 years experience with children, adolescents and adults in private practice, health and the community setting.

Why do we need speech pathologists?

Communication – the process of being able to understand and to be understood – is something most of us take for granted. Communication disabilities are the result of problems with speech, using and understanding language, voice, fluency, hearing, or reading and writing.

One in seven Australians has some form of communication disability. This means that one in seven people has a problem understanding other people or being understood by people.

What do speech pathologists work with?

Anne's speech pathology workload might include:

  • Assisting children and adults who are learning to read
  • Giving advice on feeding to a mother who has a baby with a cleft palate
  • Working with a school child who can’t understand what his teacher says
  • Working with a high school student who stutters
  • Training a teacher who constantly loses her voice to use it more effectively
  • Liaising with the carers of an elderly man, who has dementia
  • Helping a woman who has had a stroke to regain her communication skills, advising her husband and family
  • Providing education for teachers, doctors or parents
  • Providing communication strategies for a person with intellectual disability
  • Treating a person who has swallowing problems following a stroke

Specialist Speech Pathology services for children

Pre-school age 0-5 years

Difficulties that can be helped include:

  • Development of first words and putting words together
  • Sounds development and being understood
  • Developing sentences. Relating a story. Communicating and playing with peers and adults. School readiness- early literacy skills
  • Developmental delay
  • Stuttering. Voice use

Spelling, Reading and Comprehension of school aged children and adolescents

Learning areas that can be helped include:

  • Slow and difficult development of reading and spelling
  • Learning and language disorder

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder

  • Comprehension-auditory, verbal and written
  • Verbal expression and written expression
  • Study skills
  • Social skills training

Autism and Asperger’s Disorder

  • From non-verbal communication to verbal communication
  • Routines and Social skills
  • Pre-school and school liason
  • Literacy development