Rochelle Capomolla
Keyworker / Speech Pathologist
I have been working as a speech pathologist since 1999. I have worked in health, disability services and private practice.
I have worked as a sole practitioner and within multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary teams. I have found that the most efficient problem solving, and effective therapy has come when therapists work together with the family to solve the issues that matter to them.
Qualified to assist in the following areas:
Keyworker / Transdisciplinary Practice
Keyworker training illustrated the importance of including the family as a central focus. This means conducting therapy sessions within the child’s natural environments as opposed to within a clinic setting. It also means building the capacity of the family to assist their own child, empowering them to feel confident in their own skills.
Routine based intervention
Routine based intervention is powerful in allowing more functional therapy goals and strategies to be achieved.
Interaction
I work with parents and carers to implement strategies that increase interaction between adults and carers. Increasing successful interactions between adults and children is the first step to increasing language skills in a child.
This area connects with regulation and relationships within a situation. I will work closely with other teams members to ensure this area is working well for a family.
Communication
Speech Pathologists work to assist skill development in order to increase functional communication. Communication includes spoken language, body language, sign language, picture communication, voice prosody, touch.
I work with keyworkers to ensure communication skills are considered in all therapy routines.
Language
Spoken language has two components – how well we understand spoken language and how well we use spoken language. I will use a range of strategies to assess a child’s skills and to increase their skills within daily life situations.
Visual communication strategies are used in many situations to increase a child’s success within various activities.
Articulation
I work with parents and carers to implement strategies to increase a child’s ability to develop speech sounds through normal articulation development strategies, as well as implement strategies which assist children who struggle to produce sounds.
Stuttering
A speech disorder involving frequent problems with the normal fluency and flow of speech. I work with parents and carers to implement strategies to reduce stuttering and increase fluency.
Social
Communication skills play a huge role in our ability to interact well with other people. Understanding other people and being able to comfortably navigate social situations is very important.
Play
Play is a super important skill for all humans. It is considered a neural exercise and it assists development of so many skills as a person moves through their life.
For children, it is the primary way they learn. It is crucial for language development, social interactions, development of regulation skills, motor skills … the list goes on.
Play is not only a goal area but also a therapy tool. We assist children to increase their play skills, as well as the skills play assists, through increasing primary caregivers to be responsive to their own child’s play.
Sleep
Sleep issues can be assisted by considering:
– routines around sleep
– regulation and cues of safety
– interactions