Spoken by client using a communication device: 
“Speech pathologists teach me to connect.” 

Spoken by Speech Pathologist, Amelia:
“So the clients that I work with have complex communication needs. Meaning that they're not able to communicate or meet their daily communication needs using speech. 

When we set these clients up with a PODD communication book or a communication device, there have been moments where parents have been in tears, because their child has been able to communicate for the first time and they've got a voice. 

The Speech Pathology role at Novita is incredibly varied due to the diverse caseload that we have here at Novita. So there's the opportunity to work with babies right up until adults. So across the lifespan with a range of disability.

We recognize that parents are the expert in their child's lives. That Educators know their students really well. So we want to be bringing our little piece of the puzzle, which is our knowledge of communication and meal times. And working together with that team to ensure that we are being client-centred and delivering the outcomes that are important for that person.” 

Spoken by Speech Pathologist, Tolan:
“The highlight of my day, completely changes each day, because I see lots of different clients who are very different from each other. The amount of knowledge here and the opportunities for professional development I've really grown in the last nine or ten months. And I think it's amazing just to see that my perspective change around how to approach therapy with my clients.” 

Spoken by Speech Pathologist, Amelia:
“It's not only about clients being able to get their needs basic needs met but it's about them being able to show off their personality. So for them to be able to tell jokes and tease us and clients saying that the activity we've set them up with was too easy. Things like that, where we get to see who they really are and their personality shines because they've been able to tell us who they are. 

Novita provides services all across South Australia so we have a number of Metro and Regional Offices. There's great opportunities for Allied health professionals to work in our remote and Regional areas. We ensure that we are providing hope, showing families what is possible, showing individuals with disability what is possible and working with them to achieve their goals.”