Talia's story

Talia is a young girl with cerebral palsy who works with a team of allied health professionals, including her Speech Pathologist (Katelyn), Occupational Therapist (Jayne), Physiotherapist (Michael) and Case Worker (Ashley).

One of the family's biggest goals has been getting Talia to high school and Michael, her Speech Pathologist, was involved in the process: "That transition from primary school to high school is really quite a tough one. Not just for the child, but also for the families as well." 

As part of the team effort, Ashley, Talia's Case Worker, spoke directly to the head teacher of the high school's support unit to let her know about Talia and her family.

"We find if we work together, then there's greater outcomes for the family," says Ashley.

Jayne, an Occupational Therapist, worked with Talia on handwriting and alternatives to handwriting. "We look at if they need any sort of modifications or equipment for the school...and we've implemented things like speech therapy and iPads for Talia," says Jayne.

Talia was also referred to Katelyn, her Speech Pathologist, so that she could get support in keeping up in the classroom.

"Michael and Jayne referred Talia to me to get that extra support. She made a lot of progress in a fairly short amount of time. Talia was coming back and saying, 'I feel more confident in putting my hand up and asking a question or asking for help if I need it.'"

In Talia's words: "You're never gonna get something without trying. You need to try, otherwise you're not gonna get where you want to be...I just want to keep trying to do my best and see where it takes me."

Read more about Talia's team of allied health professionals