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What we offer

Speech pathology

in Leichhardt

Therapy for children and adults managing speech, language, voice or swallowing difficulties. Sessions are practical and built around the individual, and we work alongside families and schools wherever that helps. NDIS and Medicare supported.
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All ages

Children and adults

NDIS and Medicare

Funding supported

Families and schools

Worked with, not around

Leichhardt

Inner West Sydney

Our approach

Therapy that carries over

outside the room.

An hour a week in a therapy room is not where communication gets better. It gets better at the dinner table, in the playground, on the phone, in the classroom. So our speech pathology sessions are built around the situations you or your child actually find hard, and everyone around you gets the strategies too.

That means parents sit in, teachers get something they can use on Monday, and partners and carers of adult clients are part of the plan rather than an audience for it. We assess properly first, explain what we found in plain terms, and set goals you can recognise progress against.

  • NDIS
  • Medicare care plans
  • Health funds via HICAPS
  • School collaboration
  • Private clients

What we help with

What our

Leichhardt speech pathologist treats.

These are the areas we see most often at the clinic, across children and adults. If yours is not listed, call (02) 7227 9893 and we will tell you honestly whether speech pathology is the right starting point.

Speech and language delays in children

The most common reason families come to us. Late talking, unclear speech that strangers cannot understand, trouble following instructions, difficulty putting sentences together, or language that is falling behind at school. We assess where the gap actually is, then work on it through play and activities the child will tolerate for more than four minutes, with strategies sent home each week.

Stuttering and fluency disorders

Stuttering therapy for preschoolers, school aged children and adults, using established evidence based approaches. For young children the work is usually done through the parent, with structured daily practice at home. For older children and adults we look at fluency itself and at the avoidance and anxiety that often builds around it.

Voice disorders

Hoarseness, vocal fatigue, loss of range or a voice that gives out by the end of the day. Common in teachers, singers, call centre staff and anyone who talks for a living. Persistent voice change should be examined by an ENT specialist first, and we will tell you if that needs to happen before therapy starts.

Aphasia following stroke or brain injury

Rebuilding communication after a stroke or brain injury, covering word finding, understanding, reading, writing and conversation. We train partners and carers in supported conversation techniques as well, because that is often what changes daily life fastest. Occupational therapy is available in the same building when function and independence are also part of the picture.

Swallowing difficulties, dysphagia

Assessment and management of swallowing difficulty, including coughing or choking at meals, food sticking, and mealtimes that have become slow or stressful. We assess, advise on safe consistencies and mealtime strategies, and refer for instrumental assessment or medical review when that is what the picture calls for.

Autism spectrum disorder

Communication support for autistic children and adults, including social communication, language, and augmentative and alternative communication where speech is not the whole answer. The goal is being understood and being able to participate, on the client’s own terms, rather than making anyone look less autistic. Occupational therapy is available in house when sensory and daily living goals overlap.

Intellectual disability

Long term communication support for children and adults with intellectual disability, across speech, language, comprehension and communication aids. We work with families, support workers and day programs so the same approach is used everywhere, and we write the reports your NDIS plan manager needs.

What we work toward

What speech therapy

is actually aiming at.

Five things our speech pathology sessions in Leichhardt are built around, whether the client is four years old or seventy four.

Assessment and therapy built around the individual

We assess before we plan. No standard block of sessions handed to everyone who walks in with a similar label.

Safe and comfortable eating and swallowing

For clients with dysphagia, mealtimes that are safer and less stressful for the person and for whoever is supporting them.

Family and carer education

The people around the client get taught too. In paediatrics and in adult aphasia, that is often where the biggest change comes from.

Communication in everyday settings

The measure of progress is the playground, the classroom, the workplace and the dinner table, not performance inside the therapy room.

Evidence based strategies for home and school

Approaches with research behind them, translated into something a parent or a teacher can realistically do on a Tuesday.

How it works

What happens at

your first session.

Three steps. No referral needed to start privately, and no need to arrive with a diagnosis already in hand.

Book

Book online at any hour or call (02) 7227 9893. Tell us who the appointment is for and what you have noticed. Bring any reports, hearing test results or school notes you already have.

Assess

A proper assessment of speech, language, voice or swallowing, depending on what brought you in. For children this looks like structured play. Parents stay in the room.

Plan and report

You leave with a plain English explanation of what we found, clear goals, and specific things to practise at home or send to the school before the next session.

Initial assessments run longer than ongoing sessions. Reception will confirm timing, fees and any funding paperwork when you book.

Why us

Speech pathology inside a full

allied health clinic.

Communication goals rarely sit on their own. When occupational therapy or physiotherapy is also part of the picture, it happens in the same building with the same notes, rather than across three suburbs and three waiting lists.
  • Children and adults, from late talking preschoolers to post stroke aphasia
  • Parents in the room, and strategies that go home the same day
  • We work with schools and teachers where that is what will move the goal
  • Reports written so a plan manager, GP or school can actually act on them
  • Occupational therapy available in house when goals overlap
  • NDIS, Medicare care plans, health funds and private clients
  • Open seven days at 1/47-49 Flood Street, Leichhardt, including weekend mornings

What people say

Reviews from our

speech pathology clients.

“We were sent home with something specific to practise after the very first session, instead of being told to wait and see.”
Elena Papadopoulos
“Saturday morning appointments meant we did not have to pull our daughter out of class every week. That alone kept us going.”
Jarrah Milton
“After Dad’s stroke they spent time teaching us how to talk with him, not just working with him. Nobody had done that before.”
Sofia Restrepo

Common questions

Speech pathology

FAQs.

Still stuck? Call (02) 7227 9893 and ask for the OT team.
What age do children usually start speech therapy?
There is no minimum age, and earlier is generally better. We see children from around 18 months through to the teenage years. If you are worried about how your child is talking or understanding, you do not need to wait for them to grow out of it before booking an assessment. If everything is developing normally, we will tell you that and you will not need to come back.
No. You can book privately without a GP referral. A referral is needed if you want to claim under a Medicare care plan, and some funded pathways such as DVA have their own requirements. Call (02) 7227 9893 and we will tell you what you need before your first appointment.
Aphasia and communication difficulty after a stroke or brain injury, voice disorders, stuttering, and swallowing difficulty. We also support adults with intellectual disability and autistic adults with social and everyday communication. Adult work often includes training the people around the client, which is frequently what changes daily life fastest.
Yes. There are well established, evidence based approaches for stuttering, and they differ by age. For preschool children the therapy is usually delivered by the parent with structured daily practice at home. For older children and adults, treatment addresses both the stuttering itself and the avoidance and anxiety that tends to build around it. Your speech pathologist will explain which approach fits and give you an honest timeframe.
Yes, for plan managed and self managed participants. We invoice your plan manager directly, or you claim through the portal if you are self managed, and we handle the reporting. If your plan is agency managed, call us first and we will tell you where you stand before you book.
Speech pathology can be claimed under a Chronic Disease Management plan, which your GP prepares. It covers a limited number of allied health sessions per calendar year across all providers combined, and a gap payment usually applies. Bring the referral and care plan to your first appointment, and call us beforehand if you want to check what you will be out of pocket.
Initial assessments run longer than ongoing sessions, because a proper assessment takes time and we go through the findings with you on the day. Reception will confirm exact timing and fees when you book.
Most major health funds include speech pathology under extras cover, and we have HICAPS at reception so the rebate is processed on the spot and you pay only the gap. How much you get back depends on your fund and your level of cover, so check the specifics with your fund.

Ready when you are

Book speech pathology

in Leichhardt.

No referral needed to start privately. Tell us what you have noticed, for yourself or for your child, and we will book the right assessment. If speech pathology is not what you need, we will say so.
Book now
Call (02) 7227 9893