Natalie Jones Speech Pathology can provide assessment, consultation and therapy for the following communication or eating & drinking concerns;
Speech
Children can have difficulties with learning to use the sounds in words. They may use only a few sounds, or they use the wrong ones in words. This can make it hard for them to be understood. Some children are aware of their speech difficulties, and some are not. Children with communication difficulties sometimes use behaviour to make their needs known instead.
Adults may find that their speech changes due to health events, such as a stroke, or as part of various health conditions like Parkinson’s disease.
In some longstanding or involved situations, where people are not able to speak themselves, they may learn to use things that speak ‘for them’, called Augmentative or Alternative Communication Devices.
Language (understanding what others are saying, and expressing your own thoughts)
When young children are not speaking as much as expected, it can often be to do with their language skills. They may not have many words to tell others what they are thinking, or how to put words together in a sentence.
Sometimes, children have difficulty understanding what people are saying to them. This can be confusing and frustrating for the child, as they may not fully understand what is going on around them.
Adults may find that their ability to understand what others are saying or being able to express themselves becomes more difficult. This is usually linked to having experienced a health event such as a stroke.
Voice
The sound or strength of people’s voices can alter. People may develop a ‘raspy’ or harsh sound to their voice, they may lose it for periods of time, or the voice may become weak. Teachers often find that their voices are overworked! Both children and adults may need help with their voice. Vocal aspects targeted in therapy may include vocal health, strength, breath, range and resonance/volume.
Fluency (Stuttering/Stammering)
Stuttering can be the repetition of some sounds in words, repeating the whole word, or repeating an entire phrase. There can also be 'physical' behaviours of stuttering such as excessive blinking, head movements, or becoming fixed or put on 'pause' when trying to speak.
Stuttering is not considered a normal part of development in children. Sometimes stuttering runs in families. There are key times for treating stuttering in young children, where treatment is most effective. Some children will grow out of it without any help, but, a similar number of children will not be able to grow out of it without the right help. For the best chance of curing a stutter, it is recommended to seek advice from a speech pathologist as soon as possible.
There are also some treatment approaches that have been shown to help to smooth out the speech of adults who stutter.
Some children have difficulties with co-ordinating the movements required for eating and drinking, or tolerating textured foods. Natalie is trained in the Sequential-Oral-Sensory (SOS) approach to feeding therapy, for children who are picky eaters, or problem feeders.
Adults can find that their swallowing changes over time- often due to a health event, or simply from getting older. As well as standard swallowing assessment procedures, Natalie is trained in using cervical auscultation, and surface electromyography which can be a helpful approach for people with particular swallowing difficulties, such as those sometimes seen in Parkinson’s disease.
Selective mutism
Selective mutism is when a person only feels able to speak in certain conditions, for example, with only one particular person, or whilst reading a book in bed with a parent. The current recommendations are that treatment should be provided by a speech pathologist and a psychologist working together, as this will help ensure that treatment will cover the range of factors that can impact a person with selective mutism.
Learning social skills is a highly complex task that does not always come naturally. Social skills is a term that encompasses a wide range of skills from being able to use greetings, understanding personal space, or understanding the ‘rules’ of a conversation. Sometimes people need some extra teaching to learn, or re-learn some of these skills.
Information and Training Sessions
Natalie provides engaging training sessions across a range of communication or swallowing related topics. Types of organisations that she presents to include schools, kinders, hospitals, not for profit organisations, TAFE etc. These sessions can be tailored to the participant group, and can range length of time, location, and content.
