On the podcast today we chat to the lovely Rachel Hull, a Senior Speech Pathologist at Therapy Matters, a paediatric Speech Pathology practice in West Burleigh on the Gold Coast.  Therapy Matters provides in-clinic as well as offsite services to children and young people with a range of communication needs.  Rachel's having a chat to us today about her pathway into Speech Pathology and some other interesting experiences and insights around changes to caseload and stepping up into senior positions. 

 

In this episode we chat about: 

What led Rachel into Speech Therapy  

Which skills from Rachel’s previous career life translated across into her role as a Senior Speech Pathologist 

Stepping up into a leadership role - Rachel’s hot tips for transitioning from clinician to clinical lead  

Rachel’s pivotal moments in her career and experiences that shaped or influenced how she operates as a clinician 

Other things Rachel has learned in her time at Therapy Matters 

Rachel’s advice, based on her experience and reflections that she gives to others dealing with those really complex social circumstances with children 

What “accidental counselling” is all about  

The changes that Rachel has seen in her caseload and the mix within her caseload over the time she has been working as a Speech Pathologist 

How Rachel supports her team of therapists in varying stages of their career 

Rachel’s advice for therapists starting on their own pathway  

Rachel's prediction for what we're going to see into the future in the world of Allied health and disability 

 

Links: 

Therapy Matters  

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Today on the podcast we welcome the lovely Margo O’Callaghan, Co-Director and Speech Pathologist at Peninsula Speech Plus.  Margo has over 25 years experience and began her career working with communication and swallowing in adults. After moving to the Mornington Peninsula her area of practice expanded to include paediatrics. 

 

In this episode we chat about: 

The discovery of Orofacial Myology 

Where Margo did her training 

How working together with dentists, orthodontists and ENT’s you are able to support a client and get a much better outcome 

How we need to be talking to families more about sleep   

What they look for in a child that may present with Orofacial Myology 

How powerful our tongue is and the impact that that has on speech 

An interesting thumb-sucking story 

Who are Margo’s core team members 

Recommendations for somebody who's just starting out on this journey 

All the different websites and resources associated with Orofacial Myology 

 

Links: 

Peninsula Speech Plus Website 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the podcast today we spoke to Registered Music Therapist Monica Zidar from Music with Monica. Monica delivers powerful Music Therapy programs for children with special needs, using techniques informed by well-established neurologic research. 

 

In this episode we get into:

How Monica with Music all started

What Music Therapy involves

What different settings you will find a Music Therapist in

The difference in Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT) and Registered Music Therapy (RMT)

What an average music session would involve

The use of singing, instruments and games during a session

Learnings from working within an allied health team

What the difference is between Music Therapy and music education

Where Music Therapy is heading in the future

When the right time is for referring a child to Music Therapy

Where to find Registered Music Therapists in your area

Links:

Music with Monica Website

Music with Monica Facebook

Music with Monica Instagram

Australian Music Therapy Association

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the podcast today we have the fantastic Angela Kinsella, Consultant Speech Pathologist at Pearson Clinical. Angela specialises in paediatric language and literacy and the impact it has on academic achievement.  Her extensive experience includes senior roles in community health, disability services and private practice. Angela has worked with children of all ages and abilities and implements Best Practice standards and the most current evidence-based research in her work. 

 

In this episode we get into:

The assessment process and some of the considerations that ‘speechies’ go through when meeting a young person for the first time 

Unpacking a case study on a young 3 year old boy

The initial process starting with the information gathering observation process before considering any standardised assessments

Gathering as much information just from sitting chatting to the parent and child and observing what he’s doing and what he’s not doing.

How clinicians are really good at engaging the child

How the process is all about functional skills and functional communication

Engaging with the parents as they have so much information to offer but making sure they don’t just tell us what we want to hear

Working to get everybody on the same page 

As a Speech Pathologist, wanting children to thrive in different environments because this is going to set them up for life

Why it is important to observe the child in different environments outside of the clinic and how they interact with other family members and friends

Setting the child up to hit the ground running when they start formal school so that they don’t struggle love learning, become curious engaged learners and thrive

Not needing to sit down and subject the child to all the standardised assessment in one sitting if it’s not warranted

Tailoring the assessment process based on the information you have gathered 

Angela’s assessment hack

Why it is important for speechies to communicate really well to parents about this process as well, and why each of these steps is so important

 

Links:

Pearson Clinical Assessment

Angela Kinsella LinkedIn

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our guest on the podcast today is Meaghan Peck, a Mum of three, in a wonderfully Neurodivergent household. Meaghan is a passionate neurodiversity advocate who works as a Practice Manager at Peninsula Speech Plus.  Meaghan loves working with families and her team to achieve outcomes for their community. 

 

We chat about:

What it is like being a mum of three brilliant autistic children 

How Meaghan’s kids were all diagnosed and how it all came about

What Meaghan's life changing moment was with the lead up to the diagnosis

How Meaghan changed as a person and advocated for her children

The people in Meaghan’s life who were life changers for her and her family

The basic things that can really help kids, teaching them to use their voice, advocate for themselves and be respectful, their choice on how to identify themselves

What masking is

Which spectacular Australian groups are reframing autism

 

Links:

Reframing Autism

https://www.facebook.com/reframingautism

https://www.reframingautism.org.au/

I CAN Network

https://www.facebook.com/theicannetwork

https://icannetwork.online/

Kristy Forbes – Autism and ND Support

https://www.facebook.com/inTunePathways/

www.intunepathways.com.au

Hello Michelle Swan

https://www.facebook.com/HelloMichelleSwan/

https://hellomichelleswan.com/

Autism Level Up (Not Australian)

https://www.facebook.com/AutismLevelUP

https://autismlevelup.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this podcast episode we have not one but TWO fabulous clinicians from Peninsula Speech Plus. We've got Tash Lincoln, Occupational Therapist and Jess Georgy, Speech Pathologist sharing with us their experience graduating during a global pandemic.

 

What we get into:

The difficulties and benefits of finishing their fourth year in the middle of a global pandemic

The benefit of practising Telehealth and becoming very adaptable 

The daunting feeling of not honing in on practical skills which are a really key part of occupational therapy

What fields they wanted to explore

Not always having the placement opportunities that they had hoped for and the missed opportunities of experiencing more varied placements throughout their university degrees due to the pandemic

The confronting feeling of being faced with clients for the first time, which they have learned about in theory, or done in an assignment but have never actually practised in person 

The frustrations of not being able to organise their own placements

The difficulty of managing your time when you start in the workforce 

Their advice for other new graduates looking at the marketplace for a job

 

Links:

Peninsula Speech Plus

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the podcast today we welcome Principal Psychologist Daniel Baldacchino from the Northern & Hawthorn Centre for Child Development. Having worked in a variety of roles over the course of his career, Daniel has had extensive experience working in complex forensic disability settings as well as in supporting the mental health of athletes through the AFL. Daniel also works closely with schools to support student wellbeing. More recently, Daniel has applied his educational and developmental knowledge and skills in the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents at NCCD.

 

In this episode we cover:

Where Daniel’s experience started

Daniel’s extensive career including working with forensic disabilities in the prison system, working in the sports domain with AFL and more recently paediatrics

How paediatrics has helped him create positive shifts and a point of connection relatedness with parents

Daniel’s favourite resources to use in sessions

Daniel’s advocacy with mental health in supporting athletes

What Daniel’s ultimate therapy room would look like

Daniel’s career highlights including of how being a person of influence in a positive manner leaves a lasting impression with his clients

Advice Daniel would give himself if he could go back to when he was a newly registered Psychologist

 

Links:

Northern & Hawthorn Centre for Child Development

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the podcast today, we welcome our guest Sarah Wood, an Educational and Development Psychologist and Clinical Supervisor with extensive clinical and research experience in the area of ABA (Applied Behaviour Analysis). Sarah has worked with Learning for L4Life for over 10 years, providing behavioural consulting for children, families and educators throughout the Melbourne school system and into rural Victoria. 

 

In this episode we chat about:

How Sarah got into a career in Psychology

The types of clients Sarah deals with

What Learning For Life do

How Sarah works with teachers, aides and parents to assist children in their own school environment

What ABA is all about and how it can be utilised

What resources Sarah likes to use and what her ideal therapy room would look like

Sarah’s career progression and highlights

How Sarah practises self-care

Links:

Social Skills Express - TBC

Learning For Life Autism Centre - TBC

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on the podcast we welcome Dr. Georgina Cox, a Clinical Psychologist at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne in the department of Neuro Development and Disability as well as a Senior Research fellow at Monash University in the paediatric department. Over the past 10 years, she has undertaken a variety of research and clinical roles in the area of child and adolescent mental health, in both private and public inpatient and outpatient settings and has a wealth of academic knowledge. 

 

In this episode we chat about:

Dealing with challenging client sessions

Celebrating and learning from the mistakes

Why the whole supervision process is important in your career

Learning how to not only manage the child but the parent as well

Using resources during sessions

Her dream for every pediatric practice to have some expertise around parental mental health

How to practice self-care

Who she admires clinically

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We are currently doing a lot of work with practice managers and a lot of work with clinical leaders as well and what we picked up last year was how powerful using a “coach approach” was. The “coach approach” absolutely was one of my biggest survival tools for delivering online services across last year which is why we are running our successful webinar again this year “Using a Coach Approach with Team and Clients” on Friday 25th June from 12pm-4pm (AEST).

 

If you are wondering what you will take away from the webinar, we will look at:

What coaching is and what coaching isn't 

The International coaching federation core coaching competencies

A couple of different coaching theories

The growing model and what the acronym means 

Coaching, counseling, consulting, training and mentoring supervision and what they are

Coaching and the social model of disability

Co-creating the relationship communicating effectively with listening questioning and direct communication

Facilitating learning and results, creating awareness designing actions planning and goal setting

Managing progress and accountability

A team leadership mindset

A deeper understanding of the mechanics of coaching and how you can very effectively added to your communication and therapeutic toolbox toolbox

Putting powerful questioning into practice

This webinar is perfect for allied health business owners, practice managers and clinicians.

 

Links:

BOOK YOUR SPOT for the webinar

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.