There is amazing brain development between 0-3 years old and if your little one isn’t reaching some milestones, I am happy to guide you on whether assessment and therapy might be right for you. For under 2 year olds, you might consider general learning (e.g. see groups and workshops).

Therapy can begin as early as 2 years old with the right goals. For example, there are sound changes that are common as a preschooler e.g. a lisp, that become not so cute after a while e.g. a 7 year old with adult teeth and still lisping? I won’t suggest starting therapy before a child would be developmentally ready for the speech or language target you want to work on. My main aim is to make sure your child has some way of communicating their needs that doesn’t leave them, or you, frustrated.

Depending on the need, I can see all ages from infants up to adulthood.

I can see adults with mild speech difficulties such as a lisp, changing ‘th’ to ‘f’ (‘three’ sounds like ‘free’) as examples. I can also work on stuttering with adults.

Give me a call or e-mail to discuss your concerns. If I can’t help, I’ll refer you on to someone who can.

Each child will have a different outcome depending on their difficulties, abilities and engagement in practice. The length of time depends on many factors including severity of the difficulty, the frequency and consistency of therapy. Some children can pick up speech sounds very quickly once they know what sound it is that they are not saying correctly. Other children take a long time before they ‘tune in’ to what they are saying and can then hear the difference between what they say and what we say.

Speech-Language therapy is time-consuming for parents and children. It’s not enough to have a therapy session; the real ‘work’ needs to happen between sessions. It’s not usually a quick fix like a prescription for antibiotics, it can take a long time to move through speech sound development, language understanding, language expression, and literacy development.

The frequency of sessions will be recommended based on age, need and severity of your child’s difficulties, taking into consideration your family needs. There are times in family life where therapy just won’t fit – a new baby, traveling overseas, or something like surgery or other therapy priorities.

We can set blocks of therapy. For example we might go for 6 weeks then take a break, and/or move to fortnightly sessions. We’ll work together on what timing best suits you.

I work Tuesday-Saturdays at the clinic: Suite 6, 697b Wairere Drive. I can travel within Hamilton to your home or child’s school in some circumstances.

I am happy to attend an IEP at the usual hourly therapy cost ($150).

Ideally, alongside therapy, and before an IEP, I will be able to talk with your child’s teacher and gain a better understanding of your child’s communication and learning needs in the classroom. I can also suggest support and/or training for the classroom teacher.

Firstly, please cancel if your child is unwell. If you need to cancel your speech and language therapy session, please contact 2 hours prior to your session. 50% of the session fee will be charged if you do not cancel the session, or if you cancel the session within the 2 hour time frame.

You will receive an invoice from me prior to our session together. The invoice will provide details on how payment can be made beforehand. I have mobile eftpos available.