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® - Advanced Training

PEERS for Teenagers and Young Adults - (Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills) - Certification

SPEECH PATHOLOGIST

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® - Advanced Training

Multisensory Structured Language (MSL)

SPEECH PATHOLOGIST

Bella is a Certified Practicing Speech Pathologist and a Member of Speech Pathology Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Speech Pathology with Honours from La Trobe University.  

She brings expertise in paediatrics in both community and private practice settings, as well as experience in adult communication and swallowing neurorehabilitation. Her practice is grounded in evidence-based intervention and a collaborative approach, working closely with clients, families and multidisciplinary teams to support meaningful outcomes. 

Bella is trained in:

- Hanen (More Than Words) - program for Children with ASD and social communication difficulties

- Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing (DTTC) for Childhood Apraxia of Speech

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.  

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.

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)

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.

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.