22 Thynne St, Bruce ACT 2617
+61 2 6140 3266
Speech Pathology
Can Speak provides family centred speech pathology services.
At Can Speak, we want the best for your child. We are kind, caring and have a passion for working with children. We are proud of enabling your child to realise their true potential.
Providing assessment and management, Can Speak offers experience in a range of communication and literacy areas for children and adolescents from birth to 18 years of age including;
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language
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speech
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fluency
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literacy
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feeding
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alternative communication (signing, low and high tech options)
Areas we help with
Receptive language
Receptive language refers to a person’s ability to understand language. Children with receptive language difficulties can find it hard to follow instructions, understand questions and/or comprehend information presented both in the oral and written forms. Receptive language difficulties can impact on a child’s ability to interact effectively in the home, school and social environments.
Expressive language
The phrase expressive language comprises all the skills a person needs in order to convey their message accurately to others. Expressive language is an important aspect of communication, both in the written and spoken forms, and includes the use of grammar, vocabulary and sentence structures.
Literacy
Literacy is defined as being ‘the ability to read and write.’ It involves the acquisition and understanding of letter-sound relationships, sight word recognition, knowing how to sound out words for both reading and spelling, and realising when a word has been misread or misspelled. Reading comprehension (or reading for meaning) is also an important aspect of literacy development, as comprehension is a vital part of all learning.
Articulation
Articulation refers to the clarity of a child’s speech and their ability to produce sounds correctly.
Common articulation problems involve:
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Lisping
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Substituting one sound for another (e.g. saying ‘fum’ instead of ‘thumb’ or ‘tar’ instead of ‘car’)
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Only producing parts of a word rather than the whole word when speaking (e.g. saying ‘seet’ instead of ‘sweet’ or ‘ba’ instead of ‘back’)
There is a link between speech sound production and literacy development in school aged children, as children who have difficulty articulating sounds correctly are at a higher risk of having coexisting problems with their literacy development.
Fluency
Stuttering is a motor planning problem which is seen frequently in young children. Stutters present themselves in a number of different ways. They can involve the repetition of the initial sounds in words, repetition of whole words or phrases and/or ‘blocks’ in between words, where the child struggles to produce the target word. Although stutters that are seen in young children may resolve naturally, it is important to seek advice from a speech pathologist as early as possible. A stutter that goes untreated may become more difficult to correct as the child gets older.
Can Speak provides care that is Neurodiversity affirming. To us that means…
We respect and listen to the needs of neurodivergent people
We appreciate, listen and support neurodivergent people at the sensory level
We are strengths based, not deficit focused
We use the neurotype/identity/culture model and are explicit when we need to use the medical model (mostly for funding purposes)
We adapt our environment as much as we can, and encourage support networks to do the same
Our therapies/support strategies are for support, not to change/modify the neurodivergent child/person or “make them fit”
if we are not neurodivergent ourselves, that our work is informed by neurodivergent individuals including researchers, writers, speakers and presenters.
Groups
January 2026 - Therapy intensives
Looking to help your child make strong, focused progress?
Our Occupational Therapy and Speech Pathology Intensives are designed to provide a concentrated burst of support to boost skill development and confidence.
During an intensive block, your child attends therapy more frequently — for example, daily or several times per week over a 1–3 week period. This consistency allows for repetition, faster learning, and greater carryover of new skills at home and school. Intensives are ideal for targeting specific goals such as speech clarity, self-regulation, handwriting, motor coordination, or sensory processing.
Please note that ongoing weekly appointments may not be available after the intensive, as regular term schedules are often full. However, intensives are offered during all school holiday periods, and families seeking ongoing therapy can join our standby list with a clinician when spots open up.
✨ Expressions of Interest are now open for January 2026!
Complete our form to discuss your child’s goals and find the frequency option that best fits your family.
Discovering the Best Parent in you
How to balance your child's needs and your own needs?
How to not get lost in difficulties and miss the beauty?
How to be a healthy parent for my child?
What are the "Core Emotional Needs"?
Come and explore - rediscover the already existing best parent in you!
Free tea and coffee provided.
January 2026 - School readiness program
Is your child starting school in 2026? Help them feel confident, capable, and excited for this big step!
Join our 5-day School Readiness Group run by an Occupational Therapist (OT) and Speech Pathologist (SP).
Dates: 5 consecutive days in January 2026.
19th to 23rdJanuary
Through fun, play-based activities, children will build key skills for a smooth start to school, including:
Fine motor and self-care skills (using scissors, pencils, lunchboxes, etc.)
Early literacy and language development
Following routines and group instructions
Social and emotional confidence
Spaces are limited – book early to secure your child’s spot!
What to bring: School bag and morning snack
January 2026 - Parent early communication group
Do you have a late talker and want to learn practical ways to support their communication?
Join our 5-day Parent Early Communication Group designed to empower parents with knowledge, confidence, and strategies to help their child’s language blossom!
Run by an experienced Speech Pathologist, each 75-minute session includes:
30 minutes of parent and clinician group discussion – learn about early communication, how to model language, and respond to your child’s cues.
45 minutes of guided play – where parents and children practise the day’s communication goals together in a fun, supportive environment.
This small-group program is ideal for parents of toddlers and preschoolers who are using few or no words and want to build their communication foundations.
Spaces are limited – book your spot today and start your child’s communication journey with confidence!
Geek Squad: Cooperative Adventures for Social Superheroes!
Ready to roll the dice, crack some clues, and level up your social skills?
Join our Geek Squad Group — a fun, creative, and neuroaffirming program designed especially for autistic kids aged 8–12 who love games, crafts, and adventure!
Over 7 weeks (Weeks 4–10 of term), we’ll team up for board games, creative crafting, and clue hunts, all built around cooperative play — because teamwork and connection can take many different forms.
Our Quest Goals:
Celebrate each child’s unique strengths and communication style
Build social connection, problem-solving, and self-advocacy through shared interests
Support turn-taking, compromise, and flexible thinking in meaningful, authentic ways
Strengthen underlying social communication skills to help kids engage confidently at school and in the community
Our neuroaffirming approach values every way of thinking, learning, and communicating. We focus on helping participants connect and collaborate in ways that feel safe, respectful, and fun — no “fixing,” just empowering each young adventurer to be themselves.
Bring your imagination, curiosity, and unique way of communicating — and get ready to cooperate, create, and conquer together!
April 2026 - Parent early communication group
Do you have a late talker and want to learn practical ways to support their communication?
Join our 5-day Parent Early Communication Group designed to empower parents with knowledge, confidence, and strategies to help their child’s language blossom!
Run by an experienced Speech Pathologist, each 75-minute session includes:
30 minutes of parent and clinician group discussion – learn about early communication, how to model language, and respond to your child’s cues.
45 minutes of guided play – where parents and children practise the day’s communication goals together in a fun, supportive environment.
This small-group program is ideal for parents of toddlers and preschoolers who are using few or no words and want to build their communication foundations.
Spaces are limited – book your spot today and start your child’s communication journey with confidence!
April 2026 - Literacy Group - Sounds-Write Initial Code - Kindergarten
Is your child in Kindergarten and ready to build strong reading and spelling foundations?
Join our Literacy Group, a fun and interactive program run by an experienced Speech Pathologist, using the evidence-based Sounds~Write Initial Code approach.
Across five engaging sessions, children will:
Strengthen their sound–letter knowledge (phonics)
Practise blending and segmenting sounds for reading and spelling
Build confidence with decoding and word-building activities
Enjoy games and hands-on literacy tasks that make learning fun!
What to bring: Water Bottle
This small-group program is ideal for children in kindergaretn who are beginning to read and spell simple words or would benefit from extra phonics practice.
Spaces are limited – book now to support your child’s literacy journey with confidence!
April 2026 - Literacy Group - Sounds-Write Initial Code - Year 1
Is your child starting Year 1 and ready to build strong reading and spelling foundations?
Join our Literacy Group, a fun and interactive program run by an experienced Speech Pathologist, using the evidence-based Sounds~Write Initial Code approach.
Across five engaging sessions, children will:
Strengthen their sound–letter knowledge (phonics)
Practise blending and segmenting sounds for reading and spelling
Build confidence with decoding and word-building activities
Enjoy games and hands-on literacy tasks that make learning fun!
What to bring: Water Bottle
This small-group program is ideal for children entering Year 1 who are beginning to read and spell simple words or would benefit from extra phonics practice before the new school year.
Spaces are limited – book now to support your child’s literacy journey with confidence!
July 2026 - Parent early communication group
Do you have a late talker and want to learn practical ways to support their communication?
Join our 5-day Parent Early Communication Group designed to empower parents with knowledge, confidence, and strategies to help their child’s language blossom!
Run by an experienced Speech Pathologist, each 75-minute session includes:
30 minutes of parent and clinician group discussion – learn about early communication, how to model language, and respond to your child’s cues.
45 minutes of guided play – where parents and children practise the day’s communication goals together in a fun, supportive environment.
This small-group program is ideal for parents of toddlers and preschoolers who are using few or no words and want to build their communication foundations.
Spaces are limited – book your spot today and start your child’s communication journey with confidence!
July 2026 - Literacy Group - Sounds-Write Initial Code - Kindergarten
Is your child in Kindergarten and ready to build strong reading and spelling foundations?
Join our Literacy Group, a fun and interactive program run by an experienced Speech Pathologist, using the evidence-based Sounds~Write Initial Code approach.
Across five engaging sessions, children will:
Strengthen their sound–letter knowledge (phonics)
Practise blending and segmenting sounds for reading and spelling
Build confidence with decoding and word-building activities
Enjoy games and hands-on literacy tasks that make learning fun!
What to bring: Water Bottle
This small-group program is ideal for children in kindergaretn who are beginning to read and spell simple words or would benefit from extra phonics practice.
Spaces are limited – book now to support your child’s literacy journey with confidence!
Spark MD intensives - with Little Hands and Country Children
Can Speak has partnered with Little Hands OT and Country Children's Physiotherapy to participate in the Spark MD intensives.
This intensive allied health program will be held during school holidays. The program is designed for children aged 0-12 years who have goals across all three disciplines: Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, and Speech Pathology. The program includes 45 minutes of therapy per day with each specialist, for a total of 3 hours per day. Start times will either be 8:45am or 1pm.
To ensure the program is tailored to your child’s needs, the following process will occur:
Intake Teams Video Call: You will be contacted a couple of weeks before the intensive dates to schedule an intake phone call. Parent/Carer only required.
Assessment Day: One week before the intensive, your child will attend a 3-hour assessment day where each discipline (Physio, OT, Speech) will assess their individual needs and goals.
Intensive Program: During the week of the intensive, your child will attend 3 hours per day, with 45 minutes dedicated to each discipline (Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Pathology).
Reporting: You will receive a summary report at the end of the intensive