Speech and Language Therapy

Dear Parents at Croydon Park Public School,

My name is Sarah Barton and I am the Principal Speech-Language Pathologist for AllSALT.  Together with the classroom teachers in Early Stage 1 and Stage 1, I am conducting a Language Support Program. This program is being conducted in the whole classroom context and some small group times. It will help to improve children's understanding of spoken language and their talking skills. This is very important for classroom work and builds a foundation for literacy skills (both reading and writing).

A number of children have specific difficulty learning to understand and use spoken language and benefit from seeing a Speech and Language Pathologist.  

Speech and Language Pathologists…

• Assist children who have trouble understanding instructions at home or at school. E.g., ‘Before you get your lunch, put away your books'. (A child has to understand the meaning of the word ‘before' and remember the 2 parts of the instruction). 
• Work with children to learn different types of words (vocabulary) so that they can express themselves clearly. Children who have trouble with vocabulary may not know, or may not remember various words.
• Assist children to say sentences correctly(with the right grammar) Children might say; "Him got shoe," instead of "He went to get his shoes".
• Help children who have trouble saying sounds e.g., the ‘r' sound or‘s' sound correctly (by about 5 ½ years of age).
• Improve children's ‘sound awareness skills' for example, rhyming words, counting syllables and separating and blending sounds together in words e.g. b-l-e-n-d -> blend. These skills are important for literacy development and help with reading and spelling.  
• Children in Kindergarten and some children in Year 1 have had an individual test with the Speech Pathologist. Children who have been identified as having a speech or language learning difficulty will benefit from the language support program.

• In addition to the programchildren who have difficulty learning language will further enhance their skills by seeing a Speech-Language Therapist on an individual basis.
• This cannot be additionally funded by Croydon Park Public School. However, parents who would like to access a user-pay service at school can do so. AllSALT Speech Therapy will be available on-site at Croydon Park Public School each week as a private practice for individual students.

• Referrals can be made via your General Practitioner, classroom teacher or directly to AllSALT Speech Pathologist. General enquiries are welcome. Parents are welcome to attend Speech Pathology sessions at school and/or to discuss their child's progress via telephone 0412 005 775 or email sarah@allsalt.com.au

•  Sarah Barton is the principal Speech and Language Pathologist for AllSALT and is a certified practicing Speech Pathologist, with Speech Pathology Australia. She is in her 11^th year of clinical practice and has worked with children in community health centers, private practice and in the school setting. The private speech pathology service will also be conducted by Samah Tawbe, who joins the AllSALT team this year. She brings up to date knowledge and skills in working with children individually and in the school context. Samah brings the additional benefit of speaking fluent Arabic her professional work.

Yours Sincerely,

Sarah Barton

(BaAppl.Sc.Speech Pathology Hons Class 1, CPSP)