When it comes to choosing providers, it’s essential to know what to look out for and what to ask. This ensures you’ll find a person or organisation who suits your wants and needs.

The right provider can be the difference between you thriving or not. So knowing how to make the choice is important.

To help you discover the right Speech Pathologist for you, we spoke to Speech Pathologist Rebecca Khor. She explains the key things participants need to look out for.

What are the most important questions participants or nominees should ask when looking for a Speech Pathologist?

The most essential, and more obvious, questions to ask are:

• Is the Speech Pathologist certified by the appropriate governing bodies (e.g. Speech Pathology Australia)?


• Are they evidence-based in their practice and adaptive to the client’s needs?


• Is the fee for services within the client’s budget?

What are the less obvious questions participants or nominees should ask Speech Pathologists?

• How will you communicate with others in my care team? How often will you do this?


• Do you have experience that’s relevant to my needs? (Keep in mind Speech Pathology has many different areas of practice [e.g. speech, language, fluency], and some specialise in specific age ranges [e.g. pre-school, school-aged, young adults]).


• How have you previously targeted goals in my area of need?


• What is involved with your goal-setting process? What will be expected of me as part of therapy?

What questions should participants and nominees ask themselves before making the choice?

• Is the Speech Pathologist’s personality and therapy approach compatible with mine?


• Is the Speech Pathologist’s communication style compatible with mine?


• Is the Speech Pathologist overloaded with clients? Do they have time to think about me and my progress before I turn up for the session?

What other things should participants consider?

It’s helpful to know whether the Speech Pathologist works in a multidisciplinary team and whether they’re eager to talk to other allied health professionals/teachers caring for the client. That’s because collaborating with other allied health professionals is essential for providing holistic and comprehensive therapy.

Speech and language development are influenced by various factors that often intersect with Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, and schooling. Coordinated interventions will enable a more cohesive approach and support overall progress.

It’s also important to consider that the aim of therapy should be to enhance skills that will improve daily function and quality of life, rather than isolated skills that have limited bearing on the participant’s day-to-day life. So, looking for professionals who offer services focussed on quality of life is helpful.

Keen to learn more?

If you’re curious about Speech Pathology or want to learn more about Rebecca Khor, you can get in touch with her directly.

• Phone: 0412 045 871


• Email: [email protected]


• Website: http://tinyurl.com/rebeccakhorsp