Speech Pathology By Design

01/09/2026

I'm excited to be sharing Professional Development with local speech pathology business owners on Literacy Assessment tonight! It's a night where we can all connect, share and learn from each other and support each other in the valuable work we do.

27/08/2026

Happy Speech Pathology Week 2026!

This year’s theme is Communication Creates Possibility — a powerful reminder that communication is central to how we connect, participate and live our lives at every age.

Communication creates the possibility to:
Connect with family, friends, colleagues and community
Learn at school, university, work and throughout life
Grow in confidence, independence and self-advocacy
Belong in relationships, workplaces and communities
Choose and have a say in decisions that affect us
Participate in education, employment, relationships and everyday life
Thrive in ways that are meaningful to each individual

Speech pathology supports people across the lifespan:

• It may be helping a child communicate their needs for the first time.
• Supporting a student to understand language, read, write or participate in the classroom.
• Helping a teenager develop the communication skills needed for friendships, study, work and increasing independence.
• Supporting an adult after stroke or brain injury to rebuild communication.
• Helping someone with Parkinson’s disease maintain a strong and effective voice.
• Supporting adults with developmental disability to communicate choices, advocate for themselves and participate more independently.
• Helping someone manage swallowing difficulties so eating and drinking can remain as safe, comfortable and enjoyable as possible.
• Supporting people who use AAC to communicate in the way that works best for them.

And working with families, carers, educators, employers and communities to make communication more accessible.

Sometimes progress is immediately visible. Sometimes it is one word, one strategy, one successful conversation, one safer meal, one confident phone call, or one moment of being truly understood.

Because communication doesn’t just convey information — it creates possibility.

Happy Speech Pathology Week to speech pathologists everywhere, and thank you to the children, young people, adults, families, carers, educators and other professionals who allow us to be part of their communication journey.

16/06/2026

Why is pretend play so important?

When children play "shops," "doctors," "schools," or create imaginary worlds, they're doing far more than having fun.

Research shows that high-quality pretend play helps children develop:

✨ Problem-solving skills
✨ Language and communication skills
✨ Social skills and friendships
✨ Emotional understanding and empathy
✨ Self-regulation and attention
✨ Storytelling and early literacy skills
✨ Mathematical thinking and abstract reasoning

In a landmark review by Doris Bergen (2002), pretend play was found to be strongly linked to cognitive, social, and academic development. Children use play to negotiate, plan, imagine, create, problem-solve, and understand the perspectives of others—all essential skills for learning and life.

As educators and parents, it's a great reminder that play isn't a break from learning...

💡 Play IS learning.

📖 Read the research here:
https://ecrp.illinois.edu/v4n1/bergen.html

31/03/2026

Happy Easter from Speech Pathology by Design!
We hope that you have a very special time celebrating.

We will be closed over the Easter school holidays while I recover from surgery.

If you need to contact us, please email and we will get back to you as soon as we are able.

Thank you for your understanding.

27/03/2026

Agreed!

As more U.S. schools hand out iPads to every child, Sweden is quietly making a different choice. Their schools are moving away from screens for younger children and bringing back books, paper, and handwriting. Why? Neuroscience shows that holding a book and writing by hand help kids’ brains grow stronger connections for focus and deep learning.

Research suggests kids remember and understand ideas more fully when they engage their senses and avoid too much screen multitasking. Sweden’s move is not about rejecting technology, but about honoring the real needs of growing minds—helping each child build lasting reading and thinking skills in their important early years.

If you are a parent or teacher, try balancing screen time with real paper and handwriting activities at home. Read together, write notes or stories, and let children touch and turn real pages. Small changes like these might make a big difference for memory and motivation. Technology can be useful, but our kids’ minds sometimes need the simple power of offline moments. Let’s pause and think: are we giving children the learning tools that truly help them thrive?"

19/03/2026

Children don’t crave more stuff — they crave safety, time, and attention.
Every time you stop what you are doing to listen, you are telling your child, You are important. " What you think matters, and I want to hear what you have to say.”

For more inspiration, take our EQ Parenting Quiz, and get a personalized guidebook for raising kind and resilient kids with your results: https://bit.ly/Emotional_Intelligence_Quiz

16/03/2026

Resilience in kids… it’s built in the small moments.

It’s the child who falls off their bike… cries… gets a cuddle… and then says “I want to try again.”

Resilience isn’t about never struggling. It’s about learning that hard things happen, feelings are okay, and there are people who help us through.

If you’re looking for simple ways to build resilience at home, the Resilient Kids Toolkit from Royal Far West is a fantastic free resource for families. It’s full of practical ideas to help kids understand emotions, solve problems, and cope with life’s ups and downs.

👉 https://www.royalfarwest.org.au/resilient-kids-toolkit/

A great little toolkit to add to the parenting toolbox.

A free downloadable guide providing simple and effective ways for parents to build strong and well-balanced kids and families.

01/02/2026

If you have a child with ADHD and you can get to Oran Park - this might be a great opportunity for you.

Supporting parents to better understand ADHD 💙
Join our Thriving Together with ADHD workshop series.
Register here 👉 https://forms.office.com/r/K249wR8APJ

12/12/2025

Language Boost Tip #6 Model