I'm a certified practicing speech pathologist and a member of Speech Pathology Australia, dedicated to helping others tackle their speech, language and swallow/feeding challenges.
We are excited to have you at our clinic located in North Maclean, Queensland.
We can also travel to you - currently providing mobile service to aged care facilities, selected local schools and paediatric feeding clients.
Paediatric feeding & swallowing
Feeding is not only important for growing big and strong bodies, it is also central to developing healthy relationships with caregivers. Just like how we bond with family and friends over coffee or lunch.
'Fussy' eaters and food aversions are common, where trying new foods of different textures and taste can be overwhelming. Perhaps your child frequently coughs, chokes or gags when eating, making every mealtime a traumatic experience. If that is the case, your child may have a feeding disorder and should seek professional advice quickly.
If mealtimes are stressful and filled with meltdowns, it's worth taking a closer look to see what's wrong.
Breastfeeding & bottle feeding
It is reported 71% of mums experience some type of discomfort or pain when breastfeeding while 17% of Australian breastfeeding mums experience mastitis (inflammation of breast tissue) in the first 6 months postpartum (Amir et al. 2007).
Just because it's common doesn't mean it's normal
This is a judgement free zone to tackle the problem together. Whether you are breastfeeding or bottle feeding, remember to practice self-compassion. This is a time where you and your baby are learning.
Orofacial Myology
Orofacial myology is a fancy way of saying how muscles in the face and mouth aren't moving as they should, making it hard to eat, talk and breath.
This maybe because of allergies, enlarged tonsils and adenoids, tongue tie or lip ties .
If this seems awfully familiar, don't wait and get it checked out now!
Speech
We start learning speech sounds from age 1 and master most speech sounds by age 5-6. But for some children, recognising and learning certain speech sounds can be hard and will need special help pronouncing words the right way. For example, 'dog' becomes 'gog' and 'red' becomes 'wed'.
It is important to keep an eye out for speech development delay. Without timely intervention, some children may get stuck and continue pronouncing words incorrectly right into adulthood, making it hard for others to understand them.
Dysphagia
Occasional difficulty swallowing, such as when you eat too fast or don't chew your food well enough, usually isn't cause for concern.
But persistent dysphagia can be a serious medical condition requiring treatment.
Difficulty swallowing can look like choking, coughing/gagging, discomfort when swallowing, wet/gurgly voice and/or difficulty starting the swallowing process.
