Speech Pathology Team

Rebecca Balchin, Candice Wei, Dayna Barnes, Diana Tomasevic-Ljubin and Loot Majiet

Rebecca Balchin

I became a member of the speech pathology team at the NEMLDC in 2019 having worked briefly in private practice. I have a particular interest in early literacy development, as it’s an exciting and critical time of learning! I currently support the Kindergarten staff and students at our West Morley and North Balga campuses and love to see the students’ skills and confidence grow during their time here. I am passionate about supporting children with Developmental Language Disorder to realise their potential and preparing families to support their children beyond the LDC.

Dayna Barnes

I have been working as a speech pathologist at the NEMLDC for 4 years across Pre-Primary, Year 1 and more recently Year 2 cohorts. I am passionate about supporting students with Developmental Language Disorder to improve their oral language skills and empower families to build strong foundations for their child’s future success. I especially enjoy working alongside teachers, families, and external therapists, to enable students’ language and literacy skills to continually develop, both inside the classroom and beyond. This year I am fortunate to be working with our year 2 students across all 3 campuses as well as our Beechboro Pre-primary students, to support them to reach their language and literacy potential.

Candice Wai

I joined the Speech Pathology team at the beginning of 2022 and am currently working with the Year 1 classes across our 3 campuses. I have a keen interest in the area of language and literacy, especially in how these essential skills are supported and developed for children with Developmental Language Disorder. I find it a privilege that I get to work collaboratively with teachers and parents, at this foundational stage of learning, to ensure the best possible outcome for each child in our care.

Diana Tomasevic-Ljubin

2023 marks my first year as a member of the speech pathology team at NEMLDC. I have worked previously at another Language Development School and completed my final year clinical placement as a university student at NEMLDC in 2020. I am passionate about language and literacy development and supporting students to thrive as learners, effective communicators, as well as nurture their individual strengths. I currently support the Pre-primary staff and students at our West Morley and North Balga campuses and aim to meaningfully contribute to our students’ development, support the community and advocate for our students and their families impacted by Developmental Language Disorder.