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Test hearing first

A child’s hearing can change over time – even if they passed the newborn hearing screen. When a child is having speech and language delays, it’s important to check their hearing first to rule out hearing loss.

Hear and Say’s paediatric audiologists do hearing tests for babies, toddlers and children of all ages as well as hearing tests for adults.

Boy Having Ear Examined By Hearing Screener
Baby with hearing aids

Qualified Speech Pathologist on the Gold Coast

Hear and Say offers both hearing and speech therapy services for all ages on the Gold Coast, including young people and adults. Once you’ve had a hearing test, book a speech and language assessment with our qualified speech pathologists to get more information about your child’s developmental level and their communication.

Common Signs of Speech Delays

In some cases, it can be tricky to tell if a child is taking a bit longer to reach a developmental milestone than their siblings or friends, or whether they're having speech and language delays. There are a few key signs of speech and language delays to keep an eye out for before they are two years old:

  • Not using two word sentences by two years old

  • Finds it hard to follow instructions

  • Has a hard time putting words together to form a sentence

  • Leaving key words out of sentences

  • Has trouble understanding what has been said to them

  • Not saying individual words by 15 months old

  • Their speech isn't clear and/or is hard to understand

Our Speech Pathology Services

At Hear and Say, we support children who have been diagnosed with a hearing loss as well as children who do not having a hearing loss, and may be having speech and language difficulties including:

  • Not talking or late to talk

  • Any middle ear issues

  • Delay in their speech clarity or articulation

Children Drawing On Easel

Speech pathology for kids

To ensure speech therapy is individually tailored to each child, before starting therapy, our paediatric speech pathologists will do a speech and language assessment. The assessment uses standardised tests and looks at a child's level of development and how they communicate with others around them.

Children At Group Social Skills Program

Speech pathology for babies and children with hearing loss

Some children will be picked up at birth via the newborn hearing screen where as others will be picked up a little later. Children with hearing loss can grow up to hear and speak and go to mainstream school – just like their siblings and peers. This is through a combination of hearing technology and specialist speech therapy support (known as listening and spoken language therapy).

Group Speech Therapy

Hear and Say offers Group Social Skills programs or group speech therapy to teach babies, children and young adults how to work on their social and communication skills. These workshops are run by our experienced speech pathologists and audiologists using a range of activities suited to each age group.

Online and Telehealth

Hear and Say offers online speech therapy for children, no matter where you’re living. Some families even opt to have a combination of in-centre and online speech therapy appointments.

Women At Computer On Telehealth Appointment With Child
Child In Speech Therapy Lesson With Clinician

The Hear and Say Approach To Speech Therapy

Hear and Say’s unique approach works with families to teach children to learn to speak through listening. We coach parents so that they’re comfortable to practice strategies and activities in everyday situations such as play, reading books or singing along.

Visit Our Gold Coast Speech Pathology Clinic - in four easy steps

Gold Coast

8 Bellvue Drive, Varsity Lakes Qld 4227 PO Box 276, Varsity Lakes Qld 4227
 
P 07 3850 2111
F 07 3366 1803
 
Hours of operation:
Monday – Friday 8.00am – 4.30pm

Referral

Each persons referral pathway to Hear and Say may be different depending on your individual situation, for example when and how your child was diagnosed with hearing loss.

If your child was born with hearing loss, you might hear about Hear and Say's Early Intervention program via your Family Support Facilitator.

If your child is having suspected speech and language delays you may be referred by your GP or school teacher.

Booking

You can book an initial assessment for speech therapy sessions by requesting a booking here or by phoning our friendly team.

Arrival

Before you come into our clinic for your appointment, our team will share a link with you to fill out some background information which will be useful in your first appointment.

Your First Session

All appointments at Hear and Say are tailored to each individual's circumstances by our speech pathologists.

Speech Therapy FAQs

Our team of qualified speech pathologists work with children and their families to develop a child’s speech using listening. This approach aligns closely to a child’s natural developmental progression in listening, language, speech, literacy, cognition as well as social skills. Before our team start any speech therapy, they will undertake a speech and language assessment to have a full picture of a child’s development and communication levels.

A speech pathologist is a university qualified health professional who works with people who have communication difficulties such as with speaking, listening, language, reading and more. 

You don’t need a referral to access speech therapy however to get some Medicare rebates you can get a Team Care Plan or a GP Management Plan. If you have private health care cover, you may be eligible for a rebate via your extras cover.

If you want to get speech therapy for your child, you can request an appointment online or phone our friendly team to book an appointment.

The cost of speech therapy varies depending on the length and number of sessions needed.

Whilst speech therapy is not fully covered by Medicare, you might be able to get a Team Care Plan or GP Management Plan. You may also be eligible to get NDIS funding for a speech therapist.

The overall effectiveness of speech therapy is dependent on whether the strategies learnt in sessions are carried out in the home or day to day environments. Our speech therapists will work closely with families to make sure they feel comfortable practicing evidence-based individualised activities at home.

A speech therapy session will usually go for about 30 to 45 minutes on a regular basis. This will also be based around the goals determined from a child’s speech and language assessment.

There is no specific age at which a child should start speech therapy – this will vary for each child depending on the types of delays they might be having. As soon as you have a concern, a speech and language assessment is a great start as early identification is key.

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Online learning

From tinnitus, to cytomegalovirus, to teaching kids with hearing loss – further your knowledge with our on demand webinars.

2022-23 Annual Report

Read about the 300 babies born with hearing loss in Australia each year, and how Hear and Say continued to change lives this year.

Celebrating powerful communicators

Four courageous children and clients of Hear and Say shared their stories at the inaugural Power of Speech event.

Workplace giving

“The program gives our staff a sense of pride in the company and for the work they do at Sci-Fleet." – Allison Scifleet, Guest Experience Manager, Sci-Fleet Motors.

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