Meet the Team
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Christine Siepmann
DIRECTOR | PRINCIPAL SPEECH PATHOLOGIST
Christine Siepmann is the Director of Communiskills and Principal Speech Pathologist. She is a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist and a member of Speech Pathology Australia, with over 40 years of clinical and management experience in Speech Pathology. Qualifying in 1985 with a Bachelor of Applied Science (Speech Pathology) and becoming a Licentiate of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (UK) in 1990, Christine has made a positive difference to the lives of a multitude of children, adults and their families over the years.
Christine established her private practice in the Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne in 1994 after returning to Australia from the UK and has developed Communiskills to the thriving allied health practice it is today. Known for her caring and dedicated approach, Christine has a passion for working with both children and adults needing support for their communication, literacy, cognitive, social communication or swallowing difficulties. During her career she has worked in many settings including acute hospital, inpatient and outpatient neurorehabilitation, specialist tertiary neurological hospital, community paediatric services and in her own private practice. Her areas of clinical interest include Childhood Apraxia of Speech, Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, social communication, and the complex cognitive-communication impairments following acquired brain injury in adults and children.
Christine is trained in:
Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing (DTTC) for Childhood Apraxia of Speech
PROMPT (Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets) - Introductory Level
Social Thinking®
PEERS for Teenagers and Young Adults - (Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills) - Certification
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Zoe Vodden
SPEECH PATHOLOGIST - currently on leave
Zoe is a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist and a Member of Speech Pathology Australia with a Bachelor of Applied Science - Masters of Speech Pathology from La Trobe University. She has experience in clinical assessment and intervention with both children and adults across a wide range of settings including special developmental school, private practice, community rehabilitation, early childhood intervention, inpatient neurological rehabilitation, and regional community health settings.
Zoe is passionate about delivering effective and compassionate therapy, aiming to empower children, adults and their families while demonstrating kindness, warmth and fun. She uses a strengths-based approach relevant to her clients’ needs and functional goals, striving to ensure her therapy involves collaboration in order to achieve functional progress. Zoe has experience in supporting clients with communication, social, literacy, cognitive and swallowing difficulties.
Zoe is trained in:
Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing (DTTC) for Childhood Apraxia of Speech
Counselling Education in Aphasia Rehabilitation (CLEAR) – Post-stroke rehabilitation with counselling
Social Thinking®
Multisensory Structured Language (MSL)
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Jasmine Morias
SPEECH PATHOLOGIST
Jasmine is a Certified Practicing Speech Pathologist and a Member of Speech Pathology Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Speech Pathology from Australian Catholic University (ACU) Melbourne.
She brings experience in supporting children, adults and their families across mental health, early childhood, school, hospital and community settings. She also has experience in supporting adults with neurological conditions affecting their communication and swallowing both in the rehabilitation setting and in their home environments. She is passionate about communication as a foundation for connection, well-being and participation.
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Jack Smith
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST
Jack is an experienced Occupational Therapist specialising in neurodevelopmental and complex care including mental health. He implements evidence-based, client-centred, neurodiversity-affirming care with our paediatric and adult clients. He is passionate about integrating trauma-informed approaches and psychosocial support into everyday practice.
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Lucy Watts
THERAPY ASSISTANT
Lucy is a Therapy Assistant who provides individual sessions to support our clients Speech Pathology treatment plans in order to improve their communication and social skills. Lucy is currently studying a Masters in Psychology and her goal is to create a positive and supportive environment to help children and adults build confidence in their skills.
She combines this role with supporting Client Services at Reception.
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Gemma Ashdowne
THERAPY ASSISTANT
Gemma is a Therapy Assistant who implements therapy programs targeting reading, spelling and writing. She provides individual therapy sessions to support our clients Speech Pathology treatment plans. She is an experienced educator and enjoys providing one to one support to assist our clients to gain confidence in their skills and reach their goals.
Gemma is trained in:
Multisensory Structured Language (MSL)
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Kaitlyn Cavanagh
THERAPY ASSISTANT
Kaitlyn is a Therapy Assistant who provides therapy support to our clients. She is a 2nd year Occupational Therapy student who has a passion for helping children and adults build their skills and confidence in their communication, social interactions, motor skills and independence.
Kaitlyn works with preschool, school aged and adult clients implementing therapy programs as guided by our therapists.
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Mandy Sierp
THERAPY ASSISTANT
Mandy is a Therapy Assistant who supports our clients’ Speech Pathology programs. She is an experienced educator who enjoys working with children with learning differences at their point of need. She is passionate about providing structured literacy supports as a foundation for communication and learning development.
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Debbie Shardlow
CLIENT SERVICES | ACCOUNTS ADMINISTRATION
Debbie works remotely and is our virtual receptionist. She keeps Client Services and Accounts Administration running efficiently. If you call our Reception on 03 8820 8083 you will most likely chat to her to make an appointment or an enquiry.