Speech Pathology
At Think Play Say, we are passionate about evidence based speech pathology services.
Due to this and the increasingly clear research in the field, we will no longer be offering stand alone fortnightly speech pathology sessions, as there is no evidence to change from fortnightly therapy.
Instead, we will offer weekly shorter blocks for families who are only funded for fortnightly appointments, or alternating sessions with the Speech Pathologist and Allied health assistant.
We also prioritise intensity of therapy. The evidence on supporting speech sound disorders, both phonological disorders and childhood apraxia of speech, indicate that significantly more progress is made with shorter blocks of 2-4 sessions a week, followed by a break, compared to weekly sessions.
Remember, we will support you as long as you need, but our ultimate goal is for you to NOT need us any more.
There is evidence for weekly sessions supporting language development, including improvements in vocabulary, grammar and parent led support. However, more and more research is emerging that shorter more intense therapy is actually more beneficial, especially for children with Intellectual disability and Developmental Language Disorder.
Understanding Your Child's Communication: Speech Pathology Assessments
We tend to do the minimum amount of assessment we can get away with in the first few sessions. Often our clients need a bit of extra time to get used to us and the space before we can get a true measure of their capabilities. However, assessment or diagnostic therapy is an integral part of our role.
A speech therapy assessment is a comprehensive evaluation conducted by a speech-language pathologist (SLP) to understand your child's unique communication abilities. This includes speech sounds, language skills, fluency, and social communication.
Through a combination of standardized tests, observations during play or conversation, and discussions with you, the SLP builds a complete picture of your child's strengths and areas for improvement. This valuable information is then used to create a personalised therapy plan specifically designed to address your goals, and your child's needs and help them reach their full potential.
Speech assessments can also be beneficial when applying for support at school or through NDIS. We'll discuss the assessment fees upfront, including the hourly rate and estimated time for both the assessment and the report
Support to make change: Speech language therapy
Therapy is dependant on the child and their needs. Some children will need short bursts of support, and some children will attend speech pathology on and off for a long time.
We set goals with you, because you are going to be with your child much more than us. We try to support you to integrate some of the therapy targets into every day life. This may be a simple as using a few new vocabulary words more often that week, or as complex as practising modelling a new communication software. Little bits often is how learning happens best, so we want you involved.
Sometimes parents do need a break to take an hour for themselves, and that is ok, but if you opt to not attend sessions with your child or they are in an older group session, you will probably be asked to complete homework with them to keep the momentum.
Making Therapy Fit Your Life:
We understand that life can be busy and unpredictable. That's why we offer flexible options to accommodate your family's needs. Our Clinic & Home Hybrid program allows you to choose a combination of clinic sessions with a speech pathologist and in-home visits with an allied health assistant, for maximum flexibility.
We also recognise the importance of breaks. Our work + break approach allows you to pause therapy when needed without having to wait for months again to get back to the top of the waitlist.
We tend to book in line with school terms, and this term/break model is ideal for children who might experience therapy fatigue.
If you go on break, you will be prioritised to pick appointments the next term.
Please note that our services are consistently overbooked, meaning that there are more clients than we can see each team. If we feel you are ready for a break, or if you have had more than 3 terms ongoing support, it is likely that you will be asked to take a break.
We're here to work with you and create a plan that supports your child's progress that also fits your life.