Frequently Asked Questions

Families always work directly with Catherine O’Hare, the director and principal speech pathologist. Catherine is a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist who has extensive experience supporting children and families across hospitals, kindergartens and schools. 

Catherine works with babies, toddlers and children up to 12 years old. 

Use the online form on our “Book Now” page and Catherine will get in touch to support you with the next steps. You can also phone 0491 798 059 or email admin@jtcspeech.com.au.

Catherine offers appointments on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, with limited availability on Thursdays and Saturdays. Sessions run from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

Appointments can take place at our Grange clinic, in your home, school, or childcare setting, or via telehealth. We’ll chat with you about what works best for your child and family.

Mobile speech therapy is available in suburbs within about a 30-minute drive of Grange (4051). If you’re a little further away, flexible options can be discussed so therapy at home, kindy, daycare or school is still possible! 

Areas currently supported include:

North / North-West
Alderley, Enoggera, Gaythorne, Keperra, Kedron, Mitchelton, Wavell Heights

North / East
Gordon Park, Nundah, Virginia, Windsor, Wooloowin

Inner North
Newmarket, Lutwyche, Stafford, Stafford Heights, Zillmere, McDowall

South / East
Annerley, Dutton Park, Fairfield, Greenslopes, Holland Park, Holland Park West, Coorparoo, Camp Hill, Carindale, Carina, Mount Gravatt, Mount Gravatt East

South / West
Nathan, Tarragindi, Upper Mount Gravatt, Yeronga, Moorooka, Inala, MacGregor

West / North-West
Ashgrove, Ferny Grove, The Gap, Upper Kedron, Kenmore

Outer North
Aspley, Bridgeman Downs, Bracken Ridge, Brighton, Carseldine, Chermside, Chermside West, Deagon, Fitzgibbon, Geebung

Outer East
Belmont, Carina Heights, Chandler, Capalaba

Catherine's approach is always individualised – it depends on your child’s goals, strengths, and what matters most to your family. No two children are the same, so therapy will look different for each one.

Every approach we use is:

• Evidence-based – grounded in up-to-date research and proven strategies, so you can feel confident it’s effective.
• Neuro-affirming – celebrating your child’s unique way of thinking, learning, and communicating, rather than trying to “fix” who they are.
• Collaborative and family-focused – we work closely with you, your child, and their support network (teachers, carers, other professionals) so everyone is on the same page.
• Playful and child-led – sessions are engaging and fun, following your child’s interests to keep motivation high and learning meaningful.

This way, therapy is not only tailored and supportive but also empowering for both your child and your family.

A speech pathologist can support goals in many areas: 

• Language development: We help children build receptive (understanding) and expressive (speaking) language skills.
• Speech sounds/clarity: If your child mixes up sounds or is hard to understand, therapy can support clear pronunciation.
• Social communication: We teach skills like reading body language, taking turns and joining conversations so children can connect in ways that feel natural.
• Fluency (stuttering): Gentle, tailored support can make talking feel easier when your child repeats sounds, stretches words or “gets stuck”.
• Feeding/mealtimes: For children who find eating tricky, we support safe, positive mealtimes and help build skills at your child’s pace.
• Literacy: We build foundations for reading and writing, helping children learn letters, sound out words and spell.

See our How We Can Help page for more details.

You can self‑fund or access rebates via Medicare, NDIS or private health insurance. See our Fees & Services page for more details. 

No — you don’t need a referral if you’re self-funding or an NDIS participant.  However, a GP referral can be helpful if you’d like to access Medicare rebates (for example, through a Chronic Condition Management Plan). See our Medicare page for more details.

Catherine can see children who are self-managed or plan-managed under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). 

If you are:

• Self managed - You (or your NDIS partner) pay the clinic directly and then claim from the NDIS. 
• Plan-managed - Catherine invoices your plan manager. 

Our prices are benchmarked against the current NDIS rate of $193.99 per hour – the industry standard for private speech pathology services – so you can feel confident you’re receiving fair and consistent care.

Yes — but school holiday sessions are always opt-in. Families can choose whether they’d like to continue therapy during the holidays, add extra support, or take a well-earned break.

Here’s how it works:

• Planned breaks – Many children benefit from some rest during the holidays. If you’d prefer to pause therapy, that’s completely fine — as long as it’s arranged in advance, this is considered a planned break (different from an unexpected cancellation).
• Opting in for sessions – Families who choose to continue can use holiday time for regular sessions, extra appointments or home visits.
• School-based appointments – if families would like to continue these sessions usually move to the clinic, a home visit or telehealth. 
• Alternative use of time – If your child takes a break from direct sessions, Catherine can still use the reserved time to work on their home programs, reports, letters, or resource creation, or to collaborate with other professionals (e.g., OTs, physios, educators). This means progress can continue, even if therapy looks different for a few weeks.

We’ll always contact families before each holiday period so you can opt in if you’d like appointments. This gives you the flexibility to decide what works best for your child and family each holidays.

Most families choose 45-minute sessions, which Catherine calls the “sweet spot” for progress and engagement.

Each session includes 45 minutes of one-on-one therapy plus 15 minutes of behind-the-scenes time for clinical notes, planning, creating resources, liaising with other professional and sending you a session summary. These extras ensure therapy remains personalised and effective.

Sessions are billed at $193.99 per hour (pro-rata), which covers both the face-to-face and preparation time.

We also offer other session lengths when needed, to make sure we’re getting the most out of therapy and helping your child work towards their goals.

Each session includes time for important behind-the-scenes work like clinical notes, planning, and preparation. This ensures your child’s therapy is well-organised, individualised, and supported every step of the way — not just during the time we spend face-to-face.

At the end of each term, we review your child’s progress using a simple “stepping stone” approach. 

Together, we decide whether to:

• Continue into another term of therapy
• Pause and practise skills at home
• Celebrate discharge if goals are achieved

This makes sure therapy is always moving at the right pace for your child and your family. See our Therapy Review Process for more information.

If Catherine travels to your home, daycare, kindy or school, travel is charged for time and distance separately:

• Time: $1.61 per minute (up to 30 minutes each way, rounded to the nearest 5 minutes).
• Distance: $0.99 per kilometre.

Travel is rounded to the nearest 5 minutes, so you only pay for the time it actually takes. 

Most visits are within 30 minutes of our Grange (4051) clinic. If you’re further away, we’ll discuss flexible options so therapy at your preferred place is still possible.

For all reports and letters we’ll always discuss and agree on the time and cost upfront, so you know exactly what to expect. A 50% deposit is required before we begin, which helps us set aside the dedicated time to create a thorough, individualised document that supports your child’s progress and keeps their whole support network connected.

We understand that life with children can be unpredictable! Our cancellation policy is in place to prioritise your child’s progress and to keep our service sustainable.

If you need to cancel or reschedule, please let us know as early as possible (at least 24 hours’ notice).

If you can’t attend in person, we may be able to switch to a telehealth or phone appointment so your child doesn’t miss out. If less notice is given, your child’s reserved session time may still be charged. This is because that time has been set aside just for your family — and even if we can’t meet face-to-face, Catherine will use the session time to support your child’s progress through:

• Creating or updating home practice resources
• Writing progress notes, letters, or reports
• Developing individualised home programs

This way, your child continues to benefit from the dedicated time.