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
Ready Set Pre-School Playgroup (FREE) for 3 to 5 year olds
Helping little learners feel confident, capable and ready for preschool!
Is your child getting ready to start preschool or kindergarten? Our free, Ready, Set, Preschool! program helps children build the everyday skills they need to participate in a classroom environment, all through play, fun and supported practice.
Run by Can Speak’s Speech Pathology and Occupational Therapy team, children will have opportunities to practise:
🎲 Playing games, taking turns and joining in with others
📚 Listening to stories and following visual routines
🎒 Packing a school bag and opening lunchboxes
👟 Developing independence with dressing and everyday routines
✂️ Building fine motor skills through drawing, craft and play
💬 Communicating needs, asking for help and navigating transitions
Our focus is on building confidence, communication, independence and participation not worksheets or academic skills. Activities are play-based, supportive and designed to help children practise skills they can use in everyday preschool and kindergarten routines.
Program details
Age: 3–5 years
Location: Can Speak Clinic at 22 Thynne Street Bruce (upstairs from Guardian Childcare). Free Parking onsite.
Duration: Runing Wednesday Mornings from 9:30am for approx 60-75 minutes
Cost: Free!
Who attends: A parent or responsible adult must remain on site and actively support their child throughout each session.
Spaces are limited. You can book through our online booking system 4 weeks in advance.
January 2027 - 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 1–2 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 2027!
Complete our form to discuss your child’s goals and find the frequency option that best fits your family.
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