Director and Principal Speech Language Pathologist
- Bachelor of Arts (Linguistics and Developmental Psychology), (University of Queensland)
- Master of Speech Pathology Studies (University of Queensland)
- Certified Practising Speech Pathologist
**Monique Speakman is no longer accepting new clients, as she spends her time supporting and mentoring her team.
Monique always wanted to work with children, but as much as she liked the thought of teaching, she didn’t want to be doing it in front of an entire class. She wanted it to be more personal, working with children in one-on-one settings and in small groups. She has always had a love for languages and child development, so what better than to use these interest in being a speech pathologist!
For over 16 years, Monique has worked in private practice, helping children with their speech, language, stuttering, literacy, tongue thrusts, and tongue and lip ties. She’s also worked with children and their teachers in schools and daycare centres, and as a disability support worker.
And then came Kids Chatter!
“I’m a mother of twins and a singleton, so I understand that every family has unique challenges when it comes to their family life and fitting in commitments like speech pathology. My goal was to create a family-friendly clinic that focuses on the child. I want them to become competent individuals who strive both at school and in their everyday lives.”
“But the parents and immediate family play a major role in the process. So we involve them every step of the way to make sure they understand the process and have the skills they need to help their child develop, progress and improve.”
While Monique works in all areas of paediatric speech pathology, her special interests are:
- Speech sound development
- Phonological awareness and literacy
- Stuttering
- Tongue thrust swallowing
- Tongue and lip tie
- Twins, triplets and higher-order multiples
And the best thing about her work?
“Seeing the reactions of the kids or their parents when they learn a new skill is priceless. It’s so great to see them learn to do something that will help them excel at school or in everyday life.”
Outside of work, Monique loves to bake, much to the delight of her husband, son and twin girls. She is also a musician and plays the flute and piano, and loves to paint at night time to wind down and relax when she’s not working on growing Kids Chatter to provide the best service to her clients.
Want to find out a little more about Monique’s personal story? Check out her blog page.
