Speak for Yourself Speech & Language Pathology

I have a confession to make.

I LOVE telehealth.

Thanks to modern technology, we don’t need to worry as much about people needing to find time out of their busy schedule in order to travel. Families in regional and rural areas are able to access specialist support that otherwise would be inaccessible to them.

I see families all the time learn to become the agent of change themselves, and sometimes by taking on the role of the person on the ground they become upskilled so fast in how to support people with communication needs.

Telehealth comes with it’s own unique considerations on how to get the most out of an appointment.

We have created a free checklist to get the most out of your telehealth appointments. These can be completed by parents, teens or children before their appointment to be set-up for success.

Click here to access the checklist.

Enjoy and feel free to share.

Lockdowns due to COVID-19 appear to becoming more common in Australia at the moment.

Lockdowns are MASSIVE changes in the everyday routine. For many these changes can be stressful. This can be particularly hard for children and people with receptive language difficulties, who may not understand why everything is different all of a sudden. People on the autism spectrum often thrive on routine, so everything changing at once can be a stressful experience.

Explaining changes through easy to understand information stories can be a useful strategy to assist people with the transition.

We have created a free information story to assist in this time. Taking the time to explain why things are different can ease the anxiety associated with this.

Click here to download the lockdown information story

Speak for Yourself Speech & Language Pathology’s clinic is moving.

Our new address will be

18 Kurwongbah Drive
Petrie
4502

Our new centre is across the road from a playground and park, is walking distance from Lake Kurwongbah, and has a frequent bus service on our street. We are excited to move into more permanent facilities.

Our new centre will open on Monday the 31st of August 2021.

Our Stafford clinic will close on Friday the 27th of August.

We understand this will impact some current clients. We are here to support you through any changes – what this means for your individual circumstances can be discussed at your next session.

When you are the parent of a child or adult with a communication difficulty, the last thing you want to be worrying about is the affordability of Speech & Language Pathology services. Thankfully, in Australia there are a range of different schemes available to help you focus on getting the services you need. We have listed some of the most common schemes that people use.

National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

Speech & Language Pathology services can be provided by the NDIS where it helps a participant meet their goals. This usually provides services with no out-of-pocket expenses for consumers. The NDIS also has an Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) program, which assists children with a developmental delay or disability.

There are three ways your NDIS plan can be managed

• Self-managed – you will be responsible for paying invoices
• Plan managed – a 3rd party ‘Plan Manager’ will be provided, and they will take care of billing and finances
• NDIA managed – The National Disability Insurance Agency will manage the payment of funds. With this method, you are only able to get services from NDIS registered providers, so your choice of providers is reduced. At this point, Speak for Yourself is not an NDIS registered provider.

Click here to learn about eligibility for the NDIS.

Click here to learn about applying for ECEI.

Medicare

Private Health Insurance

Many of Australia’s private health insurance schemes such as Bupa and Medibank Private provide Speech & Language Pathology within their packages. These services generally have out of pocket expenses, and you will likely need to seek reimbursement from them directly. For more information, contact your fund.

What if none of the above work for me?

There are a range of other options that Australian’s should consider if they do not have access to any of the above systems.

• If you have concerns about your child but have not had an initial assessment to see if there are developmental difficulties, you may be able to get a referral from your GP to the Child Development Program by Queensland Health. This may be a good first step to assist in access to other schemes, such as the NDIS.
• University clinics provide services at a heavily discounted rate. These services are provided by student clinicians under the supervision of clinical educators. Not only do you get to save money, but you are also helping train the speech & language pathologists of the future. In Brisbane these include
  • The University of Queensland
  • Griffith University
  • Australian Catholic University

If you are unsure, get in contact with us today

We are excited to announce a new initiative for Speech & Language Pathologists working in private practice in Brisbane.

In 2021 we are hosting the ‘Brisbane SLP Group Supervision and Networking’ group. This is a group designed to help ‘speechies’ working independently in private practice to collaborate and ensure clinical excellence for clients.

We believe that developing as professionals never ends, and there is always more to learn – no matter how long we have been practicing. We hope this is a great opportunity to network with other speechies in the area, learn from each other, and continue to develop the best clinicians. Collaboration makes things better for everyone.

This program is free to join for Speech & Language Pathologists in the South-East Queensland region, and we hope you will not only learn but contribute to this group.

If you’re an independent speechie working in Brisbane, drop us an email at sebastian@speakforyourself.com.au or get in touch via the ‘Contact’ page.

We have scheduled meetings on Thursday evenings once a month, both virtually and face-to-face, however you are welcome to attend as your schedule suits.