New client information –
What to expect at your appointment
Speech pathology for new clients
Our speech pathologists provide tailored assessment and therapy for children and teens with communication difficulties. During your first appointment, we take time to understand your child and their goals, review any previous reports and create a personalised plan to support their needs in daily communication.
What to expect when you visit
- a warm, respectful and supportive approach
- a neurodiverse-affirming and family-centred approach
- individualised assessment and therapy tailored to your child’s needs
- clear explanations about communication strengths, challenges and therapy goals
- evidence-based assessment and intervention
- practical strategies to use at home, school or in everyday life
- collaborative goal setting, with your priorities guiding therapy
- regular feedback about progress
- written reports or documentation, when appropriate or requested
- recommendations for supports, referrals or further assessment, if needed
- therapy that aims to be engaging, meaningful and functional in real life
The initial visit
After completing your intake forms, your speech pathologist will spend up to 60 minutes with you and your child. During this time, we will listen to your concerns about your child’s speech and language development, undertake observations and begin formal assessment as required. Assessment can take different forms. It may be done using formal tests or informally through play, depending on your child’s age, needs and the area of concern.
Feedback will be given as the session progresses and at the end. Together with you, we will then decide whether we will begin therapy, monitor your child’s skills or undertake further assessment. You will be given lots of opportunities to discuss your options with your Speech Pathologist and ask any questions.
If your child has had any assessments conducted prior to this appointment, please bring the reports along with you.
Therapy sessions
Therapy sessions last between 35 and 60 minutes and are always tailored to your child’s therapy goals and needs. The goals will have been decided in conjunction with you following your initial appointment. We aim to achieve our therapy goals whilst making therapy sessions fun and engaging for your child, no matter what their age. Activities and specific practise tasks may be given at the end of the session to enable you to support the therapy process at home. Parents are welcome and encouraged to attend sessions with their child.
In the rare instance that your child is not making progress, your Speech Pathologist is very happy to discuss this with you, review your child’s therapy plan and refer on if required.
If you are looking for this kind of experience for your child or would like to know more about how we may be able to help you, we would love to hear from you.