CWB for Families
​What is a speech pathologist?
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Speech pathologist, speech-language pathologist, speech therapist, speech and language therapist? You may have heard any or all of these titles and wondered what the different was.
These are all titles for the same profession, the name simply varies depending on where you come from. For example, you might find speech pathologists in Australia, speech-language therapists in New Zealand, speech-language pathologists in North America and speech and language therapists in the U.K, and this is just in English! In other languages, you might know this profession as orthophoniste, logopedist, logopeda, logopedista, terapis wikara, sprachtherapeut...and many more.
Message us the name of a speech pathologist in your language, and we will add it here!
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Whatever the title, speech pathologists work with infants, children, adolescents and adults with a range of communication and swallowing difficulties, including:​​
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Pre-verbal communication
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AAC (augmentative and alternative communication)
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Language development
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Speech and articulation
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Literacy
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Social skills​
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Acquired language disorders
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Voice
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Fluency (stuttering)
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Swallowing
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Feeding
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Oro-myofunctional disorders
Why see a speech pathologist for my child?
You may have concerns regarding your child's development, perhaps a family member or other professional has recommended you visit a speech pathologist or perhaps you are just curious about what we do. Below are some of the reasons you may want to investigate speech pathology for your child.
Younger Children
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Play skills.
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Starting and maintaining social interactions.
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Communicating for a range of different reasons (requesting, showing, asking for help etc).
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Decreased use of gestures or using gestures for longer than you would expect.
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Note yet using real words or using real words later than expected.
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Difficulty understand what your child is saying.
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Putting words together to make sentences.
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Following instructions or understanding words.
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Using language in different ways to what you would expect.
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Fluency (stuttering): has repetitions, blocks on some sounds, prolongs sounds.
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Feeding.
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Extended use of pacifiers/thumb sucking.​
School-aged children and teenagers
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Speech is difficult to understand or some sounds are produced differently.
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Literacy: difficulty acquiring phonics, difficulty with reading, spelling or writing.
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Mathematical concepts.
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Differences in the development of your child’s spoken language (making sentences, using grammar, finding the right word, using spoken language).
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Understanding more complex language structures and reading longer texts – a child who seems to communicate well verbally may have underlying difficulties that impact reading and writing extended texts.
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Word finding.
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Using language socially, initiating and maintaining conversations, understanding more abstract language or hidden meanings, problem solving.
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Immature swallow pattern (tongue thrust) – tongue pushing forwards on teeth when swallowing and at rest.
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Fluency (stuttering): has repetitions, blocks on some sounds, prolongs sounds.
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Voice.
How can CWB Help?
Please contact us for an obligation free discussion regarding our services and how we can help.
We offer a range of services for children and families including assessment, intervention, programme planning, short term consultation and online services in the following areas:
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Speech and articulation
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Play skills
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Pre-verbal communication and use of signs and gestures
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PECS
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Language development - using and understanding spoken language
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Literacy - phonological awareness, reading, spelling, writing
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Social communication - Pragmatic language
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Multilingual language and literacy development
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Services for Families
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Introduction (10 to 15 minutes)
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We welcome enquiries by email, phone or video call, free of charge and with no obligation to book further appointments.
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You will have the opportunity to chat informally about your child, ask questions about speech pathology or our practice, and discuss what to expect during our sessions.
Intake meeting (30 minutes)
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A meeting with parents/guardians to discuss your child’s history, your concerns, your goals, the type and duration of assessment, and any other questions regarding the assessment and therapy process. Reviewing client history and past reports.
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We will discuss the service agreement, fees and policies.
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Your intake meeting will be by appointment in person, over the phone or via video call.
Assessment (60 to 150 minutes)
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The assessment fee is a fixed fee and is inclusive of: contact time with children, families or teachers, test materials, scoring, analysing results, provision of recommendations and a detailed report, and a 20 to 30 minute feedback session.
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Assessments may best be carried out over multiple sessions. The expected assessment time and cost will be provided to parents following the intake meeting.
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CWB endeavours to provide timely information and service provision, as such, assessment reports will be completed within two weeks following the final assessment session.
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Assessment fees are due on the day of the initial assessment session.
Screening (45 minutes)
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A screening may be offered if you are unsure whether speech therapy is the right step for your child. This can help determine whether a more detailed evaluation is recommended. We will meet with you and your child to conduct some informal observation and more formal assessments.
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A short summary report will be provided.
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Screening fees are due on the day of the session.
​Intervention
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Intervention sessions will be for a duration of 30, 45 or 60 minutes, home visits and school visits will be a minimum of 45 minutes. This session time is used for direct intervention, carer training, and consultation with family (or school if school based). The fee is inclusive of:
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The session time;
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15 to 30 minutes preparation time;
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Home practice tasks and handouts;
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Record keeping, note taking and sharing treatment notes;
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Liaising with other professionals your child may be working with;
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Other administrative costs/phone calls/emails.
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Session duration will be agreed in consultation with families prior to beginning a block of intervention.
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Home programmes, additional parent or school meetings, IEP meetings, additional reports, and individual resource development will be billed additionally.
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Intervention fees are due on the day of the session.
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