Rebecca Balchin, Candice Wei, Dayna Barnes, Diana Tomasevic-Ljubin and Kerri Altschuler
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.
Kerri Altschuler
I have been a part of the Speech Pathology team since the start of Term 1, 2023. Prior to this, I have worked in private practice for the last two years as well as worked as a part time and as a relief teacher at the NEMLDC for the last 12 years. I have assisted to organise the events for DLD Day to promote awareness about Developmental Language Disorder to the wider community. I have a keen interest in speech sound, language and literacy difficulties as well as providing therapy for children who stutter. I have seen the benefits of providing evidence-based therapy to support children to reach their potential. My current goal is to work with students and their families as well as my colleagues, to improve speech sound skills, to assist students’ social and academic success. I am looking forward to providing speech sound intervention to the children in our care.