Nice to meet you, thanks for taking the time to find out more about Talk Tree.

I like to work with clients, their families, and schools or care settings to maximise communication ability, by using evidence-based approaches. I try to make sessions as interesting and engaging as possible. I have a passion for sharing knowledge through professional education. 

I have experience helping people with many different challenges, for example:

• Speech delay / unclear speech
• Stroke
• Head injury
• Developmental delay
• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Down Syndrome
• Cerebral Palsy
• Head and neck cancer
• Stuttering
• Hearing impairment
• Reading and writing difficulties
• Neurological conditions, such as Motor Neurone Disease, Parkinson’s Disease
• Eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties

Since training at the University of Newcastle, Australia, I have worked with adults in hospital and community settings, and with children of all ages in New Zealand, Australia, and Ireland. In 2013 I returned to New Zealand and launched Talk Tree SLT, based in Te Kuiti, North King Country.

Postgraduate Training:

• Elklan Tutor – licensed to tutor Elklan communication support courses for educators and parents.
• Hanen It Takes Two to Talk – licensed to tutor the Hanen course for parents and supporters of children who are late talkers.
• ADOS – Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale – trained to conduct this standardised assessment as part of a full ASD diagnostic assessment.
• DIR / FloorTime – completed several introductory level courses
• EarlyBird – licensed to tutor the NAS EarlyBird course for parents and supporters of children newly diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
• Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) trained
• Alison Bagnall’s VoiceCraft
• Lee Silverman Voice Therapy – a therapy program to improve voice and speech production for people with Parkinson’s Disease.
• Post-Graduate Competency in Dysphagia (Swallowing impairment) – Maggie-Lee Huckabee, University of Canterbury