Speech Pathology and Therapy Adelaide

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What makes us special

What is a speech pathologist?

Speech pathologists work on all aspects of communication. Communication involves an individual’s ability to convey and understand information in any means to another individual. This can be in the form of verbal (spoken), non-verbal (body language), listening and writing.

A speech pathologist works with:

As communication occurs lifelong, speech pathologists work with individuals across the lifespan. We are able to work with toddlers all the way to geriatric patients.

The Role of a Speech Pathologist

Speech therapy has many forms and with children, therapy tends to be play based utilising toys and games. Therapy is always fun and engaging. With teenagers, therapy tends to be more tabletop tasks and will require the individual to engage in conversation and carry out targeted tasks. Adult intervention tends to be very much more focused on communication goals established by the patient. Therapy can be with just a clinician or with significant others included.

Settings for Speech Therapy

Speech therapy can occur anywhere such as the clinical space, patient homes, educational institutions and via telehealth should they be required. Preference for therapy tends to be in the clinical setting, however, clinicians are aware that at times this may not be possible. Therapy settings can also vary depending on individual goals, as some patients may need to have therapy in various settings to provide them with real life situational feedback.

The difference between speech and language

Speech may also be known as articulation. An articulation delay/disorder occurs when your child is unable to produce/pronounce a particular sound accurately, for example, /s/ or /f/. Children with speech delays have difficulty being understood.

Language is the ability to acquire and use communication. Language can be broken into two parts, how we understand language (receptive language) and how we use language to express ourselves (expressive language).

Our speech therapy process

At SASHC we have a structured intake process to minimise waitlisting and ensuring patients are seen as soon as possible.

Step 1: Initiating Speech Therapy

Step 2: Triage and Assessment Planning

Patient contacts the clinic requesting speech therapy, our administration team will discuss concerns with you and a set of online forms will be sent. These are generally a case history form

Pediatric: Speech Pathology Case History Form
Adult: Speech Pathology Adult Case History Form and a service agreement form
NDIS: NDIS Service Agreement
Non-NDIS: Service Agreement Non NDIS

NDIS and privately funded patients will need to complete differing service agreement forms. All previous assessments/reports are requested at this time.

Once these forms are returned, our admin team will notify our lead clinician of a request for speech therapy. Our lead therapist will triage all requests for therapy. At times, the lead clinician may require more information and they may contact families to clarify prior to working out a plan. Should an individual have had a previous speech pathology assessment carried out in the last 18 months, the results from these assessments are considered in planning therapy.

The lead clinician will triage patients and recommend therapy/assessments be booked in.

Step 3: Booking Assessment and Therapy Sessions

The administration team will be in touch with the patient to book assessment sessions or therapy sessions.

The SASHC process tends to take no more than 2 weeks, however, this is dependent on forms and reports being submitted in a timely manner.

Therapy at SASHC

At SASHC our clinicians work on a range of communication needs. We focus on:

Articulation
Languaged
Social skills
Literacy
Problem solving skills
Language and learning based difficulty
Communication breakdowns
Intervention for developmental disorders such as ASD and Global delays

While we offer a range of intervention options, we do not at present offer feeding therapy or dysphagia intervention for adults and children.

FAQs

Do I need to have a speech and language assessment to commence therapy?

Speech and language assessments are helpful to inform speech pathologists on the needs of the individual. It will allow the clinician to know where language and speech gaps are and to tailor therapy to the patient’s needs. These assessments will also allow therapists to build rapport and a relationship prior to commencing therapy.

For the paediatric population, we can commence intervention should there be a speech and language report from a previous therapist no more than 18 months old. Those who have had a language assessment carried out 2 or more years ago will be recommended to have a speech and language assessment completed prior to intervention sessions being booked in.

Adult sessions vary from the paediatric sessions. We will book patients in for therapy and assess the need for formal assessments should they be needed. This is primarily because adult patients tend to have specific goals in mind that need to be targeted and we can tailor our sessions to work on these identified goals.

Does the speech pathologist diagnose dyslexia?

Dyslexia is most often diagnosed by a psychologist. While speech pathologists do not diagnose the condition, intervention is often carried out by speech pathologists and we can support individuals with a diagnosis of dyslexia.

Does medicare cover speech therapy?

If a Chronic Disease Management Plan (CDM)/ or an Enhanced Primary Care Plan is obtained from a General Practitioner, rebates may apply.

How can SASHC help?

Booked an initial appointment? Please read our initial appointment information sheet below.