Western Speech Pathology, Western Suburbs Melbourne, Point Cook.

Western Speech Pathology offers Pediatric speech pathology services for children and their families living in the Western suburbs of Melbourne. We are members Speech Pathology Australia, who are based at Point Cook, Victoria.

About Us

In 2008, Chantell Palermo and Pauline Hatty established Western Speech Pathology. The vision at the time was clear – a desire to run a dynamic private Speech Pathology practice, that would offer a quality service for children and their families who live in the West. They remain committed to working with families, in order to assist them in helping their children communicate to the best of their ability.

Pauline Hatty
0411 139 523

Chantell Palermo
0417 571 791

Pauline Hatty

Pauline has practised Speech Pathology since 1993. She has worked as a senior clinician in both the public and private sector across her career, and has specialized in working with children since 1995. Pauline has worked across the hospital, pre-school and school settings, as well as in private practice. She has previously worked on a Developmental Assessment Team, collaborating with a Paediatrician and Occupational Therapist, to assist in the assessment and diagnosis of young children with developmental difficulties. Pauline has a high level of experience working with a Paediatric caseload, and a particular interest in the areas of Autism Spectrum Disorder, as well as dyspraxia.

Chantell Palermo

Chantell has practised Speech Pathology since 2002. She has worked as a clinician in both the public and private sector, and has specialized with the paediatric population over her career. Chantell has worked within the school, hospital and private practice setting, and has extensive experience in the assessment and treatment of a variety of pre-school and school aged speech, language and learning disorders. She has worked specifically on a Learning Difficulties Assessment team, and strongly believes in collaborating with other professionals, in order to obtain the best overall picture of a child’s developmental and/or learning needs. Chantell has a particular interest in Autism Spectrum Disorder, school-aged learning difficulties and preschool language disorder/delay. Chantell is trained in the Hanen ‘It Takes Two to Talk’ program and the Hanen ‘More Than Words’ program, the Secret Agent Society (a social training program), as well as PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System).

Shaina Krause

Shaina has practised Speech Pathology since 2006. She has worked as a clinician in both the public and private sectors, specialising in paediatrics. She has extensive experience assessing pre-school and school aged children to identify a range of speech, language and learning disorders. She also has significant experience developing and delivering 1:1 and group based intervention programs, within the school, preschool and clinic-based environments. Shaina strongly believes in collaborating with families, teachers and other professionals, to achieve the strongest therapeutic outcomes for her clients.

Lucy Adams

Lucy has practised Speech Pathology since 2008.  She began her career in community health, working as part of multi-disciplinary teams to assess and provide therapy to preschool children.  She then transferred this family-centred approach to private practice, working with families of children aged from two to ten years.  She has extensive experience running group programs and a particular interest in early childhood stuttering, preschool speech and language delays and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Lucy is trained in the Lidcombe Program (for preschool children who stutter), Social Thinking, Cued Articulation and PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System).

Lauren Bartlett

Lauren has practised Speech Pathology since 2014. She has worked as a clinician in both the public and private sector, specialising in working with children. Lauren began her career in speech pathology working at a specialist school for children with profound physical and intellectual disabilities. She enjoys working with preschool and school-aged children with speech and language difficulties, and has a particular interest in working with young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Lauren believes in taking a family-centred approach to each session. She is trained in using PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System).

Frequently Asked Questions

My child has received Government funding. Can I use my child's FaHCSIA funding at your practice?

Families who have received Government FaHCSIA funding under the 'Better Start' or 'Helping Children with Autism' scheme are able to use their funding at our practice. Western Speech Pathology is a member of the 'Clear Messages'  consortium, which enables families to use their FaHCSIA funding for our therapy services. If you have any questions regarding your child's Government funding, please do not hesitate to contact us.

How do I know if my child needs speech therapy?

Parents who have concerns regarding any aspect of their child's communication skills should talk to their child's GP, Maternal and Child Health Nurse, or teacher. However, we are more than happy for parents to call us, and we will answer your questions directly. Parents can self-refer to our practice, a written referral is not required.

What happens if I miss a scheduled appointment?

Please note there is a cancellation policy in place at Western Speech Pathology. Please read carefully, and do not hesitate to contact us if you have any queries regarding this. Parents can contact their Speech Pathologist by 8pm the night before their child’s scheduled appointment (by email or phone), and no service fee will be incurred. If an appointment is cancelled on the day that it is scheduled to have taken place, 50% of the service fee may be charged. If an appointment is missed without notice, the full service fee will be charged. Please also be aware that payment for cancellation/missed appointment fees cannot be made using any Government funding scheme (i.e. parents cannot use any existing FaHCSIA program or Enhanced Primary Care sessions to settle such fees). If you have any questions regarding these details, please do not hesitate to discuss with our staff.

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Session Rates

Initial Assessment

$210
per session

The Speech Pathologist seeing your child will take a case history from you, then will assess your child's communication skills. The assessment will focus on your primary concern/s regarding your child's communication. Areas that can be assessed include articulation, fluency, language (understanding and use), as well as social-interaction skills. Please allow up to 90 minutes for this consultation. 

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30 Minute Therapy Session

$95
per session

Following your child's assessment, therapy sessions can then be offered at the clinic. Parental involvement is an important part of a child's therapy program. Home practice ideas/activities are provided, so as to consolidate the goals that we have targeted in our therapy sessions. 

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50 Minute Therapy Session

$145
per session

As well as the 30 minute therapy appointments, we also offer 50 minute sessions. These longer appointments are ideal for when a child has just started therapy, as this is when we find parents wish to spend time discussing the goals that have been set for their child. The longer session may also be appropriate for school-aged children, whose ability to stay on task is often more developed than that of a younger child.

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50 Minute Group Therapy Session

$75
per session

A number of group therapy programmes are held at Western Speech Pathology. We run Social Language groups for pre-schoolers, as well as for school-aged children. In Term 4 and in the summer school holidays, School Readiness groups are also available to our clients.

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School Aged Assessment

$510

This comprehensive assessment includes an initial 90 minute appointment, followed by a subsequent 30 minute consultation (usually 1-2 weeks after the first appointment), as well as provision of a diagnostic report. 

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Comprehensive Autism Assessment

$550

This includes a 90 minute assessment session, a 50 minute post-assessment consultation, as well as provision of a diagnostic report, which includes intervention planning. 

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Summary Report

$120

A summary report of your child's assessment results, or therapy progress, can be provided to you on request. This report can provide other people involved in your child's care (e.g. GP, Paediatrician, kindergarten, school, or other therapists) with information about their time in speech pathology. 

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Diagnostic Report

$250

A diagnostic report may be requested by someone involved in your child's care (e.g. GP, Paediatrician), so as to assist them in understanding your child better. A detailed report is also required by schools for any funding applications they submit for their students. Please do not hesitate to talk with your Speech Pathologist about whether your child requires this more detailed assessment report. 

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Contact Us

Location

Cnr Pt Cook & Dunnings Rds
Point Cook, Victoria 3030