The Speech Pathology Team
The Speech Pathology Team at NEMLDC is made up of three full time positions. Currently the speech pathologists working with the staff and students of the NEMLDC are:
- Becky Balchin (Senior Speech Pathologist)
- Dayna O’Meara
- Candace Wai
- Diana Tomasevic-Ljubin
- Kerri Altschuler
Find out more about the NEMLDC Approach to Speech Pathology Service Delivery
The NEMLDC Outreach Service also consists of a team of speech pathologists who work with mainstream schools in the North East Metro & Wheatbelt regions.
Find out more about the NEMLDC Outreach Service
Role of an NEMLDC Speech Pathologist
The NEMLDC Speech Pathologists are responsible for:
- developing and maintaining the oral language programs by engaging in research, developing documents and resources and providing professional development and training to all NEMLDC staff;
- coordinating assessments, analysing assessment data and developing specific language goals for each student in collaboration with the teachers;
- supporting the specialist teachers and education assistants in implementing the oral language programs by engaging in collaborative planning, in-class modelling and team teaching, and providing feedback to the teachers and education assistants;
- coordinating and providing Wave 2 (small group) and Wave 3 (individual) intervention to students who are identified as needing additional support outside of the classroom;
- providing parent education by through a range of parent workshops, information handouts and home support packages throughout the year;
- assessing children on formal language assessments when they exit the LDC.
The close working partnership between speech pathologists and teachers/education assistants is what makes our school unique and special. The NEMLDC brings together the expertise and skills of both areas to ensure improved educational outcomes for our students.