Jessica Van Der Leeden

Jessica is a Speech Pathologist who is committed to making a difference in the lives of children and adults by helping them access their right to communication. Jessica utilises a compassionate, hard-working and energetic approach. She is passionate about evidence based practice, as well as exploring intervention options to ensure the best approach is chosen for each individual child. Jessica is a member of the Professional Self Regulation program with Speech Pathology Australia.

Jessica is trained in:

SOS Approach to Feeding – a clinical program for helping problem feeders to develop a healthy and enjoyable relationship with food
Secret Agent Society (SAS) Small Group Program – an evidence-based, multimedia program to help children improve their social and emotional resilience
Key Word Sign – using manual sign and natural gesture to support communication
The Hanen Centre “More Than Words” – engaging parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder to facilitate their child’s social, communication and vocabulary development
Social Thinking – helping children build their social skills
ReST Rapid Syllable Transition – a treatment used for children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS)
Ultrasound Biofeedback – a treatment used for children with persisting Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS)
Mental health training
Cultural awareness training at the Greater Western Aboriginal Health Service
Sensory Processing Disorder workshop via Child Sense Occupational Therapy

Jessica has experience working with children with a range of developmental delays and disabilities. These include; Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), attention difficulties (ADHD, ADD), Cerebral Palsy, Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS), Global Developmental Delay (GDD), Intellectual Disability, Chromosomal Disorders, Brain Injury, Down Syndrome, and more.

Charlotte Raleigh

Charlotte is passionate about helping all clients build their confidence to communicate freely and authentically every day. Charlotte sees communication as such an important part of everyday life and that everyone deserves the right to express themselves and connect to others. Charlotte delivers all sessions in a fun and energetic manner. Charlotte loves collaborating with the client, their families, their schools and other health professionals to form a team-based approach to supporting each individual's journey. Charlotte completed her Master of Speech Pathology at the University of Technology Sydney and is a certified speech pathologist with Speech Pathology Australia. She is interested in early language intervention, literacy and speech!

Charlotte is trained in:

The Hanen Centre “More Than Words” – engaging parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder to facilitate their child’s social, communication and vocabulary development
Social Thinking - helping children build their social skills
Developmental Language Disorder Learning modules - Speech Pathology Australia
Roots of Literacy: Play and Language webinar
Youth Mental Health - ORYGEN x SPA webinar - supporting adolescents with communication needs and mental health support
Key Word Sign – using manual sign and natural gesture to support communication.
Aspect Building Tots for Health Professionals - helping children with developmental concerns and/or early signs of autism excel in early childhood education settings.

Charlotte is particularly interested in working with children with literacy disorders, and supporting pragmatic language (social communication) skills. She has experience working with children with a range of developmental disorders. These include; Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), attention difficulties (ADHD, ADD), Cerebral Palsy, Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS), Global Developmental Delay (GDD), Intellectual Disability, Chromosomal Disorders, Brain Injury, Down Syndrome, and more.

Isabella Johnston

Isabella is a dedicated speech pathologist with a passion for neurodiversity-affirming
practice. Committed to fostering meaningful connections with her clients, she thrives on
making therapy enjoyable. Isabella places great importance on working closely with clients and their families to identify and work towards achieving functional goals. She focuses on finding a balance between evidence based practice and client centred care. Isabella completed her Master of Speech
Language Pathology at the University of Sydney, and she holds accreditation as a
certified practicing speech pathologist (CPSP) with Speech Pathology Australia.

Isabella has completed professional development in:
• Key Word Sign – using manual sign and natural gesture to support
communication
• Supported Conversation for Adults with Aphasia – effective communication
strategies to use with people living with aphasia
• Cultural Competence – modules to deepen the understanding of cultural
competence, and how to recognise and challenge racism

Additionally, Isabella has engaged in research and developed resources, including:
• Supporting oral language comprehension in primary school aged children
with developmental language disorder (DLD) - A guide for teachers
• How to make your practice neurodiversity friendly: a quality improvement
project, investigating the behaviours of speech pathologists and how they can
change their therapeutic approach to be more neurodiversity friendly
• Cerebral Palsy (CP) information sheet: a guide for individuals living with CP, their
parents, and carers, about accessing support
• Safe feeding in aged care: a presentation to aged care workers about how to
feed residents safely and effectively
Isabella is especially interested in the areas of literacy, communication (including AAC) and
stuttering. She has experience working with children with a range of difficulties.
These include autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention difficulties (ADHD), learning
difficulties (dyslexia and developmental language disorder), global developmental delay
(GDD), Cerebral Palsy, intellectual disability (ID), Down Syndrome, speech sound disorders,
accent modification, stuttering and more.

Monique Lorizio

Monique is a passionate speech pathologist who endeavours to build meaningful connections with her clients. She loves finding ways to make therapy fun and sustainable. Monique values using a client-centered approach and evidence-based practice. She also enjoys collaborating with clients, families, and schools to monitor progress and work towards holistic goals. Monique completed her Master of Speech Pathology at the University of Technology Sydney in 2023 and is accredited as a certified practising speech pathologist (CPSP) with Speech Pathology Australia.

Monique is trained in:

Key Word Sign — using manual sign and natural gesture to support communication.
Sensory Regulation — internal professional development seminar.
Liberator AAC Training Foundations — Modules 1 and 2.

Additionally, Monique has engaged in research and developed resources, including:

Speech, language and literacy of First Nations children — internal research presentation.
Figurative language — handout for navigating social language i.e. idioms and sarcasm.
Sentence complexity in everyday environments (expression and comprehension) — visual template for parents and teachers.
E-safety and online language tools — functional written handout for adolescents.
Telehealth — clinician protocol guide for using Telehealth interface and tools in therapy.

Monique is especially interested in areas of school-age literacy, social language, articulation and stuttering. She has student experience working with children with a range of difficulties. These include; autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention difficulties (ADHD, ADD), learning difficulties (dyslexia and developmental language disorder), global developmental delay (GDD), intellectual disability (ID), speech sound and articulation disorders, stuttering and more.

Melissa

Melissa is our lovely admin assistant.

She is the friendly face who welcomes the children and families in our clinic. She can help with any questions regarding booking speech therapy services, managing appointments and processing payments.

Cara

Cara is a wonderful admin assistant and Allied Health Assistant (AHA).

Cara brings a positive energy to our clinic waiting room, and provides AHA therapy in one on one sessions.