04/09/2026
MEET OUR SPEECH PATHOLOGIST – GRACE 💬
What made you want to become a speech pathologist?
For me, communication is one of our most fundamental human needs. It allows us to express our wants and needs, but it goes so much deeper than that - communication is how we build relationships, form friendships, advocate for ourselves, participate in our communities and connect with the people around us. So much of what makes life meaningful relies on our ability to communicate and feel understood.
I’ve always felt very strongly that everyone deserves access to communication, regardless of their abilities, circumstances or where they live. I’ve also always been passionate about supporting people with disabilities and helping others in a way that can have a genuine impact on their everyday lives, so speech pathology felt like a natural fit for me.
On a more personal note, I’ve always been a bit of a chatterbox! I love talking, connecting with people, and hearing their stories, so it makes sense that I ended up in a profession centred around communication.
🌟 What is the most rewarding moment you have had at work?
For me, the most rewarding part of speech pathology often isn’t one particular moment - it’s seeing the cumulative impact that communication can have on someone’s life.
One experience that really stands out was working with a child with childhood apraxia of speech. When we first began working together, his speech was extremely difficult for others to understand, and this was affecting so many areas of his life. He was experiencing frustration and behavioural difficulties, challenges at school, and difficulties developing friendships and connecting with others.
We worked together consistently for around a year using targeted, evidence-based intervention, and the change extended far beyond his speech. By the end of that year, he was thriving at school, developing meaningful friendships, and experiencing far fewer communication-related behaviours. One of the moments that really stayed with me was hearing that he had a birthday party with friends there to celebrate with him.
Seeing how improvements in communication translated into confidence, connection, participation, and quality of life was incredibly rewarding. Experiences like that are a huge reminder of why I love what I do.
💡 What is one quick tip parents can use at home today?
Don’t underestimate the power of small, consistent opportunities for communication practice within everyday routines. You don’t necessarily need to sit down and complete a structured activity for 30 minutes - even five focused minutes each day can be incredibly valuable.
If your speech pathologist has given you something to practise at home, ask them how you can naturally embed it into routines you’re already doing. It might be practising speech sounds in the car on the way to school, building language while making dinner, sharing a book before bed, or creating opportunities for conversation during bath time.
Keeping practice short, consistent, and meaningful can make it much easier to incorporate into family life and gives children repeated opportunities to use their skills in real-world contexts.
And one of the simplest things we can do is create more opportunities for face-to-face interaction. Where possible, put the screens aside, get down to your child’s level, talk, play, read and engage with them. Everyday interactions can provide some of the richest opportunities for communication development.
📣 We currently have capacity for NDIS participants and are accepting referrals for Telehealth Speech Pathology.
📍 All appointments with Grace are telehealth only.
Participant Age Groups: Infant – Children & adolescents!
Ready to refer a participant?
📞 4911 2380
📧 [email protected]
