01 Paediatric
Early speech & language
First words, sentence building, late talkers. Hanen-trained coaching for parents, plus play-based therapy that fits the child in front of us.
Speech Pathology Melbourne for Kids
Every voice
heard, understood.
Our Speech Pathology works the way families actually live. On the kitchen floor, in the school pickup line, over a tablet at bedtime. Plain-English strategies, neurodiversity-affirming practice, and goals you'll see in your real days.
Hanen
Trained early-language coaches
AAC
Devices & low-tech systems
NDIS
Registered provider
Paediatric
Neurodiversity-affirming
Our focus
What we
help with.
From first words to school-age literacy and AAC. Early speech and language, communication devices, reading and writing, school readiness, social communication, and speech sound clarity.
02 AAC
AAC & communication devices
Tablet-based AAC, key-word sign, PODD, low-tech boards. Trialled, taught and modelled with families, schools and support workers. All voices welcome.
03 Literacy
Reading & writing
Structured literacy support for kids who are slipping at school. Decoding, spelling, comprehension. Evidence-based programs paired with home-friendly practice routines.
04 School readiness
Prep & school readiness
Pre-Prep language, listening, social skills and early phonological awareness. Getting little ones set up for a confident first year of school.
05 Social communication
Social & pragmatic skills
Conversation, friendship skills, self-advocacy. Affirming support for autistic and ADHD kids. We don't teach masking, we teach choice.
06 Clear speech
Speech sound clarity
Articulation, phonology, stuttering, motor speech. Kids who want to be understood the first time, every time.
The detail
Three stories we
tell every week.
01 · Early intervention
Early intervention
Early language support.
If you're worried about a late talker, we coach parents using the Hanen “It Takes Two to Talk” framework. Small changes to play, mealtimes and reading that build language in your everyday routines.
- Parent-coaching in your home or via telehealth
- Play-based assessment, no clipboard tests for under-3s
- Weekly take-home strategies, written in plain English
02 · AAC
Augmentative & alternative
AAC and communication devices.
We trial different systems with the child, then teach the people around them. Family, support workers, classroom aides and teachers. That way the device is used all day, not just in the therapy hour.
Talk to an AAC-trained SP
03 · School readiness
School readiness
Getting ready for Prep.
The year before Prep is where the foundations get laid: listening in groups, following a two-step instruction, rhyming, recognising letters. We build the program with your kinder educator and your child, so the first morning in a school uniform isn't the hard one.
Plan a school-readiness intake How we start
From first call to
first session.
01 First contact
A real conversation.
An intake chat with our team, with a real person, not a scripted call centre. They take down what's going on and book your first session. Anything clinical gets passed straight to Cara.
02 Getting to know your child
Assessment, on your turf.
At home, in clinic, or online. We use play-based observation alongside standardised tools where they're useful. Every child is different, so what this looks like is shaped around yours.
03 Ongoing
Therapy & home practice.
Sessions begin, with home-practice strategies that fit your actual mornings and evenings. Goals are set with you, and progress is tracked and shared with your team, not stored in a filing cabinet.
How it's funded
Four ways to fund
your sessions.
We're registered with all the main pathways and our intake team handles the paperwork end-to-end. You won't need a degree in claim codes.
Most clients
NDIS
Self-managed, plan-managed and NDIA-managed all supported. We're a fully registered NDIS provider audited to the Practice Standards.
Line item 15_622_0118_1_3
Chronic disease
Medicare CDM
Up to 5 subsidised allied health sessions per calendar year with a GP-issued Chronic Disease Management plan. Bring your CDM referral.
Veterans
DVA
Approved DVA Allied Health provider. Gold and White card holders with a current D904 referral from a GP can access speech pathology at no cost.
Self-funded
Private
Most private health funds with extras cover speech pathology. We'll provide the receipts and item codes you need to claim. HICAPS coming soon.
Not sure which pathway fits? Call our intake team on (03) 7500 5696. Most callers have an answer inside ten minutes.
Speech Pathologist
Your Speech Pathologist
Meet Cara.
“Therapy doesn't happen in the half-hour I'm with a family. It happens in the hundred small moments between. My job is making sure those moments count.”
Cara holds a Master of Speech Pathology from La Trobe and is Hanen “It Takes Two to Talk” trained and AAC-certified. She works across early intervention, school-age literacy, and complex communication needs. She uses a neurodiversity-affirming practice grounded in family coaching, not clinic drills. AHPRA-registered, Speech Pathology Australia member.
M.Speech Path (La Trobe) Hanen trained AAC Literacy SPA member
Speech questions
Things families
always ask.
Real questions from real parents and support coordinators, answered in the same plain English we use in session.
Ask our intake teamMy child's only saying a few words at two. Should I wait?
No. The evidence is clear that early, low-intensity parent coaching makes more difference than waiting another six months. We start with Hanen-style strategies in your everyday routines, and we don't need a diagnosis to begin.
Will using AAC stop my child from talking?
No. The research is consistent. AAC supports the development of speech, it doesn't replace it. Kids who use AAC alongside spoken language often talk more, not less, because the pressure of finding the word right now gets lifted.
Do you see kids at home, in clinic, or at school?
All three. We run sessions in our Dandenong clinic, we travel to homes across Greater Melbourne, and we partner with kinders, schools and early-learning centres. Telehealth is available Australia-wide for follow-up and parent coaching.
Can you support my autistic child without trying to fix them?
Yes. We're a neurodiversity-affirming practice. That means goals are set with the child and family, not imposed. We don't teach masking. We work on the skills that are genuinely useful to them: being understood, joining in, and speaking up for themselves.
My child's school says they're behind in literacy. Can you help?
Yes. Literacy is squarely a Speech Pathology area. We assess the underlying skills (phonological awareness, decoding, comprehension, working memory), then run evidence-based structured literacy programs in session and as home practice. We loop the teacher in too.
How quickly can we get started?
We see new families as soon as we can. When you'll start depends on current capacity and getting your onboarding paperwork completed. We prioritise intake for under-3s and pre-Prep school readiness in Term 4.
Do you see teenagers and adults?
Our Speech Pathology focuses on children, generally up to around 12. If a young person is already on our caseload, we keep supporting them as they get older, but we don't take on new teen or adult speech referrals. For adults, our Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy teams may be able to help, or we can point you in the right direction.
Also explore
One team, three
connected disciplines.
Ready when you are
Speech therapy that
starts with a chat.
A real intake team, not a scripted call centre. They'll take your details and get you booked in, and Cara handles anything clinical from there. Your first session can be in your home, our clinic or on a screen.
Hanen
Parent-coaching
for early language
AAC ready
Tablets, low-tech,
key-word sign
Under 12
Focused paediatric
speech support