Speech Pathology for Children
Fun and friendly support for children with speech and language difficulties.
What we provide:
With our support, your child can improve their communication skills, their social well-being and their confidence. We’re proud to offer our expertise in an environment that’s friendly, warm and supportive.
Our services can help your child:
- to improve their ability to understand verbal and written language
- to convey messages to others verbally and using written language, including the use of grammar, vocabulary and sentence structures
- with articulation difficulties like lisping
- with fluency and stuttering
- with voice difficulties.
Our services are:
- free or low cost, depending on your eligibility for the program
- supportive
- tailored for children
- available in languages other than English.
Arranging Speech Pathology services
Parents or carers can engage a Speech Pathologist for their child directly. The following professionals can also make a referral for our services:
- Paediatrician
- Maternal and Child Health Nurse
- General Practitioner
- Audiologist
- Kindergarten Teacher
- Preschool Field Officer
- other professionals involved in the child’s care.
Eligible children will be placed on a waiting list. Please note that wait times for an assessment can range between three to six months. Once your child has reached the top of the waiting list, our speech pathologist will contact you to make an appointment.
About our sessions
On the first session, our Speech Pathologist assesses your child’s speech and language by conducting an interview with a parent or carer, and observing the child’s presentation during play. We will also use formal language screening and evaluation tools when required. Depending on the outcome of the assessment, we may recommend:
- speech pathology sessions, usually conducted in blocks for a weekly or fortnightly basis over a school term
- review or monitoring of speech and language development by the speech pathologist
- further assessment or referral to another professional if required
- referral to a different Early Childhood Intervention provider
- no further services, if your child’s speech and language is found to be within the average range.
Please note that eligible children will be put on a waiting list before they can access their first assessment with our speech pathologist.
Eligibility
- Children must be 0-6 years of age and not yet enrolled in a school. School aged children can access school-based speech pathology services.
- Children must only have speech and language development issues. If your child has significant developmental difficulties in other areas, in addition to speech and language, they may qualify for Early Childhood Intervention through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
- Some children who are on the Early Childhood Intervention program as part of the NDIS may be eligible for our service
- Children must live or attend kindergarten or childcare in the City of Yarra.
Interpreters
Telephone and on-site interpreters can be arranged in any language at no cost to you.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
The NDIS can also help pay for services for young children who need help with their health and development. If your child gets this help while they are under six years old, it could mean they need less help later. Find out how we can help your child under the NDIS scheme here.
North Richmond Community Health’s Speech Pathology service is supported by the Victorian Government.
Contact information
If you’re a client
If you have a query about our speech pathology service for children:
Phone
(03) 9418 9800
If you’re a health practitioner
Send this completed referral form to our Intake service.
Phone
(03) 9418 9965
E-mail
intake@nrch.com.au
Send referral letter from your clinician to Intake at:
North Richmond Community Health 23 Lennox St Richmond, VIC 312
Key information
How to access our services
Send a completed referral form to our Intake service.
Phone
(03) 9418 9965
Send referral letter from your clinician to Intake at:
North Richmond Community Health 23 Lennox St Richmond, VIC 3121
Working Staff
Imogen Hay
Team Leader/Senior Speech Pathologist
Imogen joined the Child Health and Development team in 2017 and became the Team Leader in 2021. She previously worked in a range of community health, early childhood intervention, and primary school settings in Australia and the United Kingdom. Imogen is an advocate for a family-centred, strengths-based approach to therapy, and in involving family members in each step of the therapy journey.
Imogen is committed to continuing to develop her skills and professional learning, participating in regular professional development and training. She has also completed a Master of Public Health, and research into how multilingual families are supported to teach their children more than one language.
Lisa Pellegrini
Speech Pathologist
Lisa has been working as a Speech Pathologist at North Richmond Community Health since August 2018.
Lisa brings many years of experience from working in the United Kingdom as well as various Community Health and Early Childhood Intervention Services across Melbourne. Lisa enjoys working collaboratively with families and other professionals to ensure that there is a positive team around the child. Lisa particularly enjoys working with culturally and linguistically diverse families of pre-school aged children.
Lisa is a committed therapist who works holistically with families to facilitate engaging therapy sessions, which target the individual needs of each child and family to help them achieve their goals. Lisa utilises a family-centred approach in therapy and she strives to empower parents to be the agent of change in their child’s life.
Violetta Shersher
Speech Pathologist
Violetta joined the Speech Pathology team at North Richmond Community Health in October 2020. She has previously worked in early childhood intervention and in mainstream and specialist school settings in Australia and the United Kingdom.
Violetta has trained in the Hanen It Takes Two To Talk program, the PROMPT Technique for treating motor speech disorders, the Pragmatic Organisation Dynamic Display (PODD) communication system and the SOS approach to feeding. She enjoys supporting families to use their children’s everyday routines to develop their language, social communication and feeding skills.
Violetta completed the Master of Speech Pathology in 2012 and has contributed to research on healthcare communication at Monash University.
Betty La
Speech Pathologist
Betty joined the team at North Richmond Community Health in August 2021. She brings experience working as a paediatric Speech Pathologist in specialist school settings and in private practice.
Betty is committed to supporting children and their families to achieve communication and swallowing goals in areas such as speech sound delays and disorders, early and school-aged language, and Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC).
She is trained in the Social Thinking program, assessment and management of Childhood Apraxia of Speech, and the Pragmatic Organisational Dynamic Display (PODD) communication system.
Betty enjoys working closely with families to provide holistic and culturally appropriate care. She completed her Master of Speech Pathology with the University of Melbourne.
Livia Li
Speech Pathologist
Livia joined the Speech Pathology team at North Richmond Community Health in early 2022. She has a range of experience across clinic, community, and educational settings.
Livia is passionate about collaborating with families, and other professionals (e.g. teachers, and health professionals) to help her clients achieve their communication goals.
Livia has special interests in early intervention, speech sound disorders, autism, and literacy. She is trained in Hanen More Than Words program, the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), the PROMPT Technique for speech sound disorders, Language Acquisition through Motor Planning (LAMP), Sensory feeding therapy and oral placement therapy (OPT).
Livia is fluent in both English and Mandarin.
Imogen Harbourd
Speech Pathologist
Imogen joined the Speech Pathology team at North Richmond Community Health in 2022. She has previously worked in early childhood intervention, community health, primary and secondary school settings in Australia and the United Kingdom.
Imogen is trained in the Hanen It Takes Two To Talk and More Than Words programs, the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) and the SOS approach to Feeding. She has also completed additional training in paediatric feeding including Responsive Feeding Therapy approaches.
Imogen has special interests in Augmentative and Alternative communication (AAC), Early Language development and Paediatric Feeding. Imogen is passionate about utilising a family-centred and strengths-based approach in therapy. She completed her Masters in Speech Pathology at La Trobe University in 2015.
Jeanette Hor
Speech Pathologist
Jeanette joined the team at North Richmond Community Health in January 2022. She has experience working with children and young adults in schools, public and private clinics. Jeanette’s biggest areas of interest are early language intervention, literacy, phonology, and social skill development.
Jeanette is passionate about collaborating with children and their families to achieve their goals. She values developing strong relationships with her clients and creating therapy sessions that are tailored to their interests and strengths. Her experience in behaviour analysis studies helped her understand how children learn and how to design learning environments to help children master core skills.
Jeanette is trained in Social Thinking® program, Hanen More Than Words program, Basic Key Word Sign, and Little Learners Love Literacy program. She has a Masters in Speech Pathology and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Jeanette is a Certified Practising Member of Speech Pathology Australia and is proficient in Cantonese, English, Mandarin and Malay.