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Who we help

Who We Help

Speech-language therapists work across a wide range of settings including:

– Ministry of Education

– Ministry of Health

– NGOs

– Private Practice

– Board of Trustees; and

– The tertiary sector.

 

Speech-language Therapists work with both children and adults with a wide variety of communication and swallowing difficulties. Below is a list of difficulties/disorders that may be assessed and treated by a Speech language Therapist.

 

Children

Speech-language Therapists work with children with the following difficulties/disorders:

  • Speech difficulties or delays
  • Receptive language (language understanding) difficulties or delays
  • Expressive language (language use) difficulties or delays
  • Stuttering
  • Voice difficulties
  • Specific speech disorders (typically Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia or Childhood Apraxia of Speech, or speech difficulties associated with Hearing Impairment)
  • Complex needs (e.g. children with Down Syndrome or Cerebral Palsy)
  • Social communication difficulties (such as those associated with Autistic Spectrum Disorder)
  • Feeding and/or swallowing difficulties
  • Reading and writing difficulties

The Ministry of Education’s Communication Service employs speech-language therapists who support children with high communication needs in schools. The support focuses on students between 5 and 8 years of age who have high communication needs as well as their families/ whānau and teachers. To find out more visit the Ministry of Education’s website.

If your child does not qualify for the Ministry of Education support and privately funding speech-language therapy for your child in not an option then you may qualify for the Extraordinary Care Fund.

 

Adults

Speech-language Therapists work with adults with the following difficulties/disorders:

  • Speech difficulties following stroke
  • Language difficulties following stroke
  • Speech and/or language difficulties following a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
  • Voice difficulties(including those associated with disorders such as Parkinson’s Disease)
  • Stuttering
  • Swallowing difficulties
  • Language and social communication difficulties associated with disorders such as Dementia
  • Reading and writing difficulties following stroke or TBI

 

Many of these client or disorder groups are assessed and treated solely by a Speech-language Therapist, while others may be assessed and treated as part of a health or education team. For information about Speech-language Therapy services in your area, click here.