Wendy Richardson Speech Pathologist

20/12/2022

07/11/2022

Ky rocks on to the beat of his own drum 🥁

Ky, who has has profound autism and difficulty with verbal and non-verbal communication, is following his dream of becoming a professional musician and disability advocate for the music industry.

He's landed himself a rare spot in an inclusive radio training program.

Tap to read Ky’s story 👉 https://bit.ly/3UbI8SR

15/10/2022

A very good song for children to learn about letters and sounds. On You Tube, Phonics Song (new Zed version.

15/10/2022

Some photos from a session with Menegi. 1st is an illustration from HIS book of monsters. Below it is a picture of a highly toxic toadstool. Top right is his artwork on top of the picture to make it look slimier and even MORE dangerous. Below that are pictures of more ‘real’ monsters; a lamprey’s mouth, a huge eel, and the mythical ‘Kraken’. Menegi’s obsession with monsters was slightly extended by the story we made on the Pictello app. A good case of using the child’s interest and expanding on it.

06/12/2020

As a member of AADPA (Australian ADHD Professionals Association) I have been made aware of a new Australian publication ‘ADHD Made Simple’.

The book which is only 100 pages long, has been written by Dr. Alison Poulton, Senior Lecturer in Paediatrics, Sydney Medical School Nepean, who is also a paediatrician specialising in treating children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Visit this site to learn more and/or order the book.
http://www.poultonadhd.com.au/

03/10/2020

Ok ... so time to start looking my age maybe! Took advantage of being home lots due to COVID to change to my new look!

31/01/2020

In this digital age, there is a big disconnect between leaders and the people they lead. Many managers think they are doing a great job but when you ask the people they lead, it's quite the opposite.

31/01/2020

I am delighted to share with everyone this wonderful, inspiring story of Keith Herrenberg, as reported in The Cairns Post on Wednesday.
It is also going to be published in the Innisfail Advocate.
It was Keith’s idea and it is his fervent hope that his story will inspire others with challenging conditions to persevere in pursuit of their goals.

25/09/2019

I'm really looking forward to sharing vital information about 'Ears, Hearing, and the Sound Environment '. See the attached flyer for details. I am happy to present the same workshop for free at another time to other groups of parents and/or professionals. Just contact me.
Main message: congestion in the upper airways makes listening very difficult. No matter how much effort we put into teaching children, unless we deal with this, it is literally falling on deaf ears. There's a bit to this, but also some super simple remedies. I'll post more after this event.

19/09/2019

An amazing first day at my 2 day '3a' Course today in Cairns!
3a is the simpler name given to the Abercedarian Approach Australia.
'Abecedarian' refers to someone who is learning the rudiments of something.
Its oldest documented use was in the early 1600's and it referred specifically to someone who was learning the alphabet, hence 'a_ be_ cer_ darian' (abcd). One of the basic tenets of this approach is that language is the core of early learning. See https://3a.education.unimelb.edu.au/about-the-abecerdarian-approach

07/09/2019

This is something that occurred to me many years ago as I spoke with families that were very concerned about what lay ahead. Of course it can apply equally to an older person too.
I guess the main message is that you can’t know how difficult or long this journey will be, you can only start, and then persist. I hope it may be helpful to you all.

28/08/2019

Loving the information I’m picking up today about all the factors involved in choosing alternative symbol-based communication methods.
The workshop is presenting very practical research and resources to help us all in this complex task.
For anyone interested in this, you might find the materials on the I - ASC website very helpful. See below ... iasc.mmu.ac.uk

I-ASC stands for Identifying Appropriate Symbol Communication and is pronounced as “I ask”.
MMU is the Manchester Metropolitan University which was centrally involved in the research and development of resources.

Happy to talk to anyone re all this when I’m back.

27/08/2019

Well, it seems I can't kick the learning habit .....
After some last minute procrastination, I'm on the plane to Perth WA to the 4 day AGOSCI Conference!

Looking forward to learning heaps more about augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) options for people who can't communicate in the usual ways.

12/07/2019

One of the marvellous things happening in the field of autism, is the growing trend to genuinely find value in the skills and knowledge of autistic people.
For those of you with autistic traits and your families, this is very heartening news. And its not just ‘token’ involvement; it is real, necessary and respected!
This was a big feature of many presentations at the recent international conference in Singapore.
One sign of this move is the work being done through the Autism Cooperative Research Centre - a world-first, based here in Australia, and doing some really fantastic stuff.
Even if you just want to feel positive about Autism, and don’t want to read the detail, I suggest you have a quick look through the photos here from their website, and in particular, the information re training autistic leaders (that is leaders, who are autistic) and the Sylvia Rodger Academy.

09/07/2019

As someone with ADHD, I can really relate to this!

This 👍🏻 (without the apology)
Credits to One Night Brands

22/06/2019

The role pf parents, especially mothers, was addressed via a poster at the confetence.

22/06/2019

A major theme of this conference ... the genuinely valuable role of people with autism in our society. Lots about succeeding in school and life.

20/06/2019

Its very exciting to see the number of presentations around employment of people with ASD at this conference.