— Welcome, We are the Team
About Us
Kate Jackson
Kate Jackson is a Speech and Language Pathologist, who came to this profession following a long, and rewarding career in education, both in Australia and overseas.
Kate has a Master of Speech Language Pathology from The University of Sydney, and a Master of Special Education from Macquarie University. Kate is a Practising Member of Speech Pathology Australia.
Kate has worked with children and their families for over 20 years. She brings to her work a wealth of knowledge and skills that have been acquired through working as a Speech and Language Pathologist and as a Special Needs Teacher. This makes her unique, as she is acutely aware of the speech, language and literacy skills that are required for pre-school and school aged clients to function in a classroom setting.
In addition to providing assessments and therapy services directly to clients, Kate is experienced with working with educators to help them support children with speech, language and literacy needs at childcare, pre-school and school.
Kate is accredited by the internationally regarded Hanen Centre in Canada to run the ‘It Takes Two to Talk’ Hanen parent training program. She is a qualified facilitator of Secret Agent Society Program. She is trained in the Lidcombe Program for childhood stuttering. Kate has extensive literacy qualifications including; Spalding Method for literacy (Levels 1 and 2), MultiLit Reading Tutor Program (Revised) and MiniLit literacy intervention program. Kate is experienced in providing systematic, intensive instruction to people with delays in literacy.
Kate is dedicated to working with clients to reach their potential, and with schools, as they work to support students with speech, language and literacy challenges.
Mira Thomas is a dedicated and innovative Speech Pathologist. Graduating from the University of Sydney with a Masters in Speech Pathology,
Mira values the therapeutic alliance created by clients and the clinician. Mira focuses her therapy on her client and family’s goals to ensure that children can learn and communicate at their best. Using the latest in child communication research, Mira likes to work collaboratively with parents, carers, teachers and other allied health professionals, providing quality care in communicative treatment.
Mira is accredited by the internationally regarded Hanen Centre in Canada to run the ‘It Takes Two to Talk’ Hanen parent training program. Mira has literacy qualifications in Sounds Write. Mira is a member of Speech Pathology Australia.
Mira Thomas
Gia Di Pietro
Gia is a diligent and enthusiastic Speech and Language Pathologist. Graduating from the University of Sydney with first-class honours, Gia has a passion for providing focused, evidence-based therapy for her clients. Gia has recently published her first academic article in the International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology (IJSLP), in which she developed a novel tool to help clinicians describe childrens’ behaviour in telehealth assessments. You can read about it here. Gia also presented her research at the Speech Pathology Australia (SPA) national conference in Melbourne in 2022.
Gia continues to cultivate a holistic and individualised approach to speech and language therapy, ensuring that the client and family’s needs are met. Gia enjoys working with children to achieve their speech, language, literacy, and social communication goals and reach their potential, and has a particular interest in Augmentative and Alternative Communication methods (AAC). Gia enjoys working collaboratively with parents and caregivers, as well as allied health professionals and teachers.
Gia is accredited by the internationally regarded Hanen Centre in Canada to run the ‘It Takes Two to Talk’ Hanen parent training program as well as the ‘Sounds-Write’ Program for literacy. Gia is a member of Speech Pathology Australia and is dedicated to continuing life-long learning and professional development.
Saw is a compassionate and passionate speech pathologist. As a neurodivergent individual, she understands the value of prioritising connection, regulation, and empathy in therapy sessions, and listening to the neurodivergent community. She firmly believes in advocating for authentic communication and resolving misunderstandings through shared knowledge of different communication styles. As a bilingual therapist, speaking English and Mandarin, Saw strives to reduce barriers to families accessing quality services, and embracing cultural differences.
Saw graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Applied Science (Speech Pathology) (Honours). Saw presented her honours research on caregiver experiences of telehealth assessments, Speech Pathology Australia’s national conference in 2022.
Saw believes in lifelong learning and takes time to complete professional learning to continue to develop her skills. Some courses she has completed include Hanen’s ‘It Takes Two to Talk’ (for late talkers), Meaningful Speech’s Natural Language Acquisition course (for gestalt language processors), further training in alternative and augmented communication (AAC), Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing and Rapid Syllable Transition Treatment (for childhood apraxia of speech), and facilitator training to run the Secret Agent Society Program. Saw is a Certified Practising Member of Speech Pathology Australia.
Saw Peters
Therese Pokorny
Therese is a therapy assistant and administrator who is in her final year of a Masters of Speech Pathology at Charles Sturt University and has a degree in Linguistics. She has been with Sydney SLP for just under 3 years and has a background in teaching English to adults.
Therese is a proficient speaker of Brazilian Portuguese and an advanced speaker of Spanish. Under the supervision of speech pathologists, Therese has supported numerous children with their literacy, language, speech, and social communication skills. Therese is looking forward to joining the team full time in 2024 as a full time Speech Pathologist.
Sarah is in her final year of the Bachelor of Applied Science (Speech Pathology) degree at the University of Sydney.
Sarah started to work with us in July 2022 as a Therapy Assistant. She enjoys working with children and their families and is passionate to develop her skills for providing client centred and evidence-based practice.
Sarah Hore
Tiane Caruso
Tiane Caruso is a Therapy Assistant and works in Administration
Tiane is currently completing her Masters of Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Sydney. She also holds a Bachelor of Psychology from Macquarie University.
Tiane is particularly interested in literacy, stuttering and speech interventions. In her spare time, Tiane enjoys playing the drums and performing live in bands across Sydney.
We are available for consultation
Please feel free to get in touch with us. We are here to work with you and your children!
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Reading and Writing Difficulties:
If your child is facing challenges with reading, writing, or literacy skills, a speech pathologist can help identify underlying language-based difficulties and provide specialised interventions to enhance their literacy abilities, such as phonemic awareness and reading comprehension strategies.