Our Team
Rachel
Principal Speech Pathologist
Since graduating with honours from the University of Sydney in 2002, Rachel has worked as a Speech Pathologist in a variety of settings. She has worked as a clinical specialist in major tertiary referral hospitals in Sydney, private rooms at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead Medical Centre, community health, school-based services, and multidisciplinary clinics including developmental assessment clinics, feeding clinics, and research clinics.
Rachel’s ongoing professional training includes:
• Sounds-Write Linguistics Phonics Certified Practitioner
• Hanen Certified Speech-Language Pathologist (More than Words; ABC and Beyond)
• SOS Approach to Feeding
• Picture Exchange Communication Systems (PECS)
• SAS trained facilitator (Secret Agent Society social-emotional skills training program)
• PROMPT trained (Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets for speech disorders)
Rachel’s skills are recognised at a national level including prestigious scholarships. She received a Churchill Fellowship in 2008 and toured feeding clinics and hospitals in the US and Canada sharing her expertise and engaging with international practices. In addition, Rachel was the recipient of NSW Department of Health Rural Allied Health Scholarship in 2001 and received a Speech Pathology Australia Research Grant in 2001. Rachel has been a long-time contributor to the Speech Pathology profession and presented research papers at various international conferences.
She has also lectured for the University of Sydney Masters of Prosthedontics and Bachelor of Oral Health programs. Rachel has provided assessment and intervention services for children and adults presenting with a wide range of feeding and communication disorders including difficulties with speech, language, social communication, stuttering, voice, swallowing and oromotor dysfunction. She is passionate about working collaboratively with clients and families and takes great care developing strong therapeutic relationships and applying evidenced based clinical solutions to treat the unique needs of the individual.
Brielle
Speech Pathologist
Brielle is a recent graduate of the University of Newcastle with her Bachelor of Speech Pathology with Honours.
Brielle is devoted to rural allied health practice and was a recipient of the Rural Allied Health Undergraduate Scholarship in her final year of university. She understands the need for rural clinicians and to support the wide range of clients requiring services. Brielle enjoys working in all areas of practice within speech pathology, and shows a keen interest in literacy, fluency, and voice.
As an undergraduate, Brielle supported clients with literacy difficulties in a reading clinic based in the Hunter Valley for a period of three years.
Brielle’s ongoing professional development includes:
- Sounds Write Certified Practitioner
- Hanen Certified: More than Words
Brielle is motivated and committed to evidence-based multidisciplinary practice and working with her clients’ teams, to assist them reach their goals.
Martine
Occupational Therapist
Martine holds a bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy since 2017. She has worked in a range of clinical settings. This has included working within a paediatric clinic as an OT consultant for children mostly with neurodevelopmental disorders. She has also worked as an occupational therapist for 5 years in one of the premier hospitals in the Philippines in the adult physical disability setting supporting a variety of cases including neurological and orthopaedic conditions as well as splinting.
She has participated in seminars for dynamic splinting for nerve injuries and the WHO basic wheelchair assessment and training program to continue improving her skills and education in the adult physical disability setting.
Martine believes in the importance of communication, collaboration, and utilising support systems with the client and their caregivers to create client-centred therapy and maximise progress. She is passionate in helping clients find meaning in their lives through occupational therapy.
Amy
Allied Health Support Teacher
Since the age of 18, Amy has been involved in the early childhood industry. Over time, she pursued various certificates that eventually led to her decision to earn a Bachelor's degree in Teaching (Early Childhood Education) in 2013. Throughout her career, Amy has had a deep passion for the early years of a child's life and recognises the importance of foundational learning during the first five years of a child's life. She incorporates theories from renowned educators such as Montessori and Vygotsky in her teaching practices and has developed her own philosophy through aspects of intentional teaching that are in line with interest-based and play-based learning.
Amy is enthusiastic about continuing to expand her knowledge, skills, and professional development with the support of Word of Mouth Health + Learning. She is committed to establishing strong relationships with children and their families to ensure that the best possible outcomes are achieved during their sessions at Word of Mouth.
Lauren
Allied Health Support Teacher
Lauren graduated from Charles Sturt University in 2007 with a Bachelor of Education, Primary - Special Education. Since then, she has worked in the education sector as a Support Unit Teacher, teaching students of various ages and abilities. During this time, Lauren worked collaboratively with health professionals, families and teaching colleagues to develop and implement individualised programs for her students. She continued to expand her knowledge and skills through professional development opportunities including Key Word Sign, the Hanen Program, sensory programs including Traffic Jam in my Brain and social and emotional development using the Zones of Regulation. Lauren is committed to continuing her learning to assist the clients of Word of Mouth.
Lauren is passionate about helping her clients to make progress and improvements in all aspects of their development. She believes that strong relationships focusing on individual strengths and interests help to ensure the best outcomes for both clients and their families. Lauren’s teaching philosophy and practice is underpinned with the expectation that all children have the ability to learn and progress at their level. She believes that small steps lead to big gains.
Katrina
Allied Health Assistant
Having worked in Early Learning for nearly two decades, Katrina is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Education. Throughout her career, Katrina has developed a passion for working with children who have hearing and speech differences. She has dedicated herself to finding effective teaching methods that match each child's unique learning style, enabling them to understand and communicate more effectively.
Katrina believes in establishing strong relationships with open communication as the foundation for success. To enhance her ability to support her clients, Katrina has completed several Key Word sign courses and the Hanen program 'It takes two to talk.' She is committed to continuously improving her skills and knowledge to better serve her clients' needs.
Katrina's approach is reflective, consistently examining her practices to ensure she is providing the best possible outcomes for the children, families, and clients she works with.
Kate
Administration Officer
Kate's warm manner and impeccable organisation skills contributes greatly to the smooth running of Word of Mouth Health + Learning. Kate’s friendly approach greets our clients both over the phone and in-person at our Mudgee clinic.
With years of experience working as an assistant to professionals and a Certificate III in Business Administration, Kate is an expert behind the scenes ensuring the efficient operation of the clinic. If you wish to enquire about our services, please don’t hesitate to call and speak with her!