Opening September 2026
Speech Pathology on the Gold Coast
01The discipline
Communication and Swallowing Assessment
Speech pathology covers two areas that surprise people by sitting together: communication and swallowing. Both depend on the same structures and both are assessed by the same profession. At Nuevo Medical, speech pathology on the Gold Coast will be available for children and adults, working within the same centre as the referring GP so assessment findings feed back into the broader care plan. Referrals come from a range of directions, including developmental concerns in children and communication or swallowing changes in adults following a medical event. Referral is arranged through your GP as part of general practice care. Call 0417 426 825 to enquire.
02What's covered
What Speech Pathology Covers
The scope spans childhood development through to adult acquired conditions.
- 01
Speech and articulation
Assessment of how sounds are produced, most commonly in children. Assessment establishes whether patterns fall within expected developmental ranges.
- 02
Language development
Understanding and use of language in children, covering both comprehension and expression. These are assessed separately as they can differ considerably.
- 03
Adult communication
Changes in speech or language following a stroke, injury or progressive condition. Assessment establishes what specific components are affected.
- 04
Swallowing
Assessment of swallowing difficulty in adults and children. This is a clinical assessment with implications beyond communication.
03The assessment
How an Initial Speech Pathology Assessment Works
The first appointment is a structured assessment rather than a therapy session. For children, your speech pathologist will take a developmental history covering milestones, hearing history, family history and what you've observed, then assess through structured tasks and observation, often involving play for younger children. For adults, the history covers the medical event or change involved, its timeline and what specifically has altered. Bringing hearing test results, previous assessment reports, discharge summaries or school reports gives the assessment relevant context. Standardised assessment tools are used where appropriate so results can be compared over time. At the end, your speech pathologist explains what the assessment found, whether intervention is indicated and what it would involve, and reports back to your referring GP.
04Questions
FAQs
Children can be assessed from a very young age, and assessment is generally recommended when a parent or practitioner has a specific concern rather than at a fixed age. Waiting for a child to grow out of a difficulty is not always the recommended approach.
Speech and swallowing use many of the same anatomical structures and neurological pathways, so the same profession assesses both. Swallowing assessment is a substantial part of adult speech pathology practice.
Hearing is commonly checked first because it directly affects speech and language development, and an undetected hearing difficulty can explain some presentations. A speech pathologist will ask about hearing history at the assessment.
05Enquiries
Speak with the team
Opening September 2026
- Phone
- 0417 426 825