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Medical Speech Pathology

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Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Medical Speech Pathology, Medical and health, Coomera Specialist and Diagnostic Centre, Gold Coast.

In-clinic & mobile services for adults with swallowing and communication difficulties
Queensland's first mobile Flexible Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES) service

Referrals can be made at: https://medicalspeechpathology.com.au/make-a-referral/

04/11/2026

The role of manual therapy in Speech Pathology

Over the past two years, manual therapy has become an increasingly important part of our clinical practice.

We've seen some really encouraging benefits from incorporating hands-on treatment into our sessions, supporting patients to improve comfort, awareness and function.

An important part of this approach is also helping patients develop greater awareness of their own bodies and learn self-directed touch and manual techniques that they can use independently to help manage their symptoms.

We believe that empowering patients with practical strategies they can use beyond their therapy sessions is just as important as the hands-on treatment itself.

We're also very excited to be partnering with The Voice Care Centre to bring their specialist Vocal Massage and Voice Care Training Course to Australia in early 2028!

This is an exciting step for us, and we look forward to sharing more about this collaboration in the coming months.

💙 Watch this space!

28/10/2026

World Stroke Day | 29 October 2026

Today is a reminder of the importance of recognising the signs of stroke and seeking medical attention immediately.

Stroke can affect communication, swallowing, thinking and everyday life. Speech Pathology plays a vital role in helping people regain function, build independence and improve their quality of life.

Recovery doesn't have a deadline. With the right support, meaningful progress can continue months and even years after a stroke.

Speech Pathologists also support families with guidance, strategies and practical tools to help them understand and support their loved ones throughout recovery.

This World Stroke Day, let's raise awareness and recognise the important role Speech Pathology plays in supporting people at every stage of their recovery.

22/10/2026

Rapport is a clinical skill.

As Speech Pathologists, we spend a lot of time thinking about how to assess communication and swallowing. But how often do we consider the importance of the therapeutic relationship itself?

It's tempting to jump straight into formal assessments, establish baseline measures, identify goals and get started on treatment , particularly when appointment time and funding are limited.

But sometimes, in our eagerness to achieve as much as possible, we risk overlooking one of the most important foundations of effective therapy: trust.

For people living with aphasia, dysarthria or cognitive-communication difficulties, establishing that trust can be particularly complex. The usual ways we build rapport through conversation, questions and small talk may not always be accessible.

And for patients who have experienced lengthy diagnostic journeys, previous unsuccessful interventions or significant changes to their independence, feeling heard and understood can be just as important as understanding the assessment findings.

Taking time to listen, understand someone's priorities, explain our clinical reasoning and outline what therapy might involve isn't time wasted. It's part of establishing a collaborative therapeutic relationship.

Sometimes the most valuable thing we can achieve in an initial session isn't completing another assessment or prescribing an exercise.

It's helping someone leave feeling that they've been heard, that their clinician understands their difficulties, and that there's a clear and considered plan moving forward.

How much time do you consciously allow for rapport-building in your initial sessions?

01/10/2026

Longstanding Type 2 Diabetes may be affecting swallowing more than we realise.

In this 2026 study, researchers used FEES to assess swallowing function in adults with Type 2 Diabetes and found significantly higher rates of premature spillage, delayed swallow initiation, pharyngeal residue and pe*******on events in those with longer disease duration.

One of the most interesting findings was that glycaemic control showed only limited association with swallowing impairment. The strongest predictor of swallowing difficulty was how long the person had been living with diabetes.

For Speech Pathologists working with medically complex adults, it is a useful reminder that dysphagia may represent another important, and often overlooked, complication of chronic diabetes.

Reference:
Abdel-Wareth, L., Bassiouny, S., Sabry, I., Refaat, A., & Elrouby, I. M. (2026). Assessment of swallowing disorders in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Egyptian Journal of Otolaryngology, 42, 157.

23/09/2026

Dementia Action Week | 21–27 September 2026 💙

It’s time to talk about dementia.

Sometimes, the first step is simply noticing a change, finding the right words, following conversations, feeling less confident socially, or changes with eating and swallowing.

These changes can have many causes, but they’re worth talking about.

You don’t have to have all the answers. Start a conversation, listen, and speak with your GP about the changes you’ve noticed. A referral to a Speech Pathologist is an important part of getting the right support.

We help people and families navigate changes in communication, thinking and swallowing, with practical strategies tailored to the individual.

Small conversations can make a big difference. 💙

18/09/2026

September is World Alzheimer’s Month

The earlier you know, the more you can do.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, but dementia is an umbrella term for a range of conditions that can affect memory, thinking, communication and everyday life.

Changes in communication can be an important part of the picture. A person living with dementia may experience difficulties with word finding, following conversations, organising their thoughts or keeping track when topics change.

Speech Pathology can help. We can support communication, connection and independence, while also helping families and communication partners find practical ways to communicate more effectively.

We can also assess and support swallowing and mealtime difficulties, helping people maintain safety, participation and quality of life.

If you’ve noticed changes in someone’s memory, language or communication, starting a conversation with their GP or another health professional is an important first step.

14/08/2026

How often we swallow may matter more than we think.

Two recent studies examined daily swallowing frequency and geniohyoid muscle mass in two different clinical populations.

Uota and colleagues studied 62 adults with severe motor and intellectual disability, while Kawamichi and colleagues studied 84 older adults in long-term care.

In both studies, people who swallowed more frequently had greater geniohyoid muscle mass.

Swallowing frequency remained independently associated with geniohyoid muscle mass after adjustment for other factors.

Why is this interesting?

We often think about swallowing muscle activity in terms of rehabilitation exercises: repetitions, resistance, frequency and intensity. But swallowing also occurs spontaneously throughout the day, including between meals to manage saliva.

For some people, everyday swallowing can be substantially reduced with low oral intake, enteral feeding, illness, frailty or reduced alertness.

These studies do not show that reduced swallowing causes muscle atrophy, or that increasing swallowing frequency will preserve muscle or improve swallowing. Both were cross-sectional.

But together, the findings make total daily swallowing activity an interesting variable to consider alongside the more deliberate exercise dose we prescribe in dysphagia rehabilitation.

We’ve explored this further in our newest blog post, including the research behind swallowing frequency, its role in dysphagia rehabilitation, and how it can be measured using clinical observation, RSST, laryngeal microphones, sEMG and wearable technologies.

References
Uota C, Nohara K, Tanaka N, Fujii N, et al. Effect of daily swallowing frequency on swallowing-related muscle mass in individuals with severe motor and intellectual disability. Brain and Development. 2026;48(4):104553. DOI: 10.1016/j.braindev.2026.104553.

Kawamichi H, Obana A, Nohara K, Tanaka N, Sakai T. Relationship Between Swallowing Frequency and Swallowing-Related Muscle Mass in Older Adults. Journal of Oral Rehabilitation. 2026;53:42–49. DOI: 10.1111/joor.70056.

28/07/2026

There’s a side of tube feeding we probably don’t talk about enough: living with it.

In Speech Pathology, conversations about tube feeding often happen through a clinical lens: swallowing safety, nutrition and hydration, rehabilitation, feeding regimens, and decisions around oral intake. These things matter, but they’re only one part of what it means to live with a feeding tube.

What do you wear when clothing catches on your tube? How do you travel with feeds, equipment and supplies? What is it like to eat socially when you don’t eat in the same way as everyone else? What about body image, dating, work or university?

These aren’t necessarily questions a clinical appointment can answer.

That’s why we were so pleased to be introduced to The Blend, a lifestyle magazine created specifically for the tube-feeding community. It brings together lived experience, practical information and professional perspectives, without making the medical side of tube feeding the whole story.

And it really is a lifestyle magazine. Alongside information about enteral and parenteral nutrition, you’ll find stories and conversations about travel, fashion, food, relationships, family life, advocacy, navigating healthcare and the everyday realities of living with tube feeding.

For us as Speech Pathologists, that broader perspective matters. When tube feeding is discussed as part of dysphagia management, it’s easy for the conversation to centre on swallowing physiology, safety and nutritional adequacy. But someone considering a feeding tube is making a decision that may affect their life, not just their nutrition.

Clinical information matters. So does hearing from people who actually live it.

Whether you live with a feeding tube, support someone who does, or work with people considering one, The Blend is a resource well worth knowing about.

Head over to to explore the magazine, their online stories and the Tubie Talks podcast.

We’ve also explored the practical, social and emotional aspects of living with tube feeding in our latest blog post, Beyond the tube: Living well with tube feeding, over on the Medical Speech Pathology website.

01/07/2026

6 years ago, I had the opportunity to join the Centre for Neuroscience of Speech team at the University of Melbourne as a Research Assistant exploring the question: Can changes in the way we speak help identify Alzheimer's disease earlier?

I’m proud to say that this work has finally been published!

This paper has been years in the making. Like many research projects, it involved countless hours reviewing the literature, writing, rewriting, incorporating new evidence, responding to feedback, and patiently waiting as the project evolved over time. Seeing it finally published is a really special milestone.

I'm incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to contribute alongside such an outstanding multidisciplinary team. Working with researchers whose expertise spans Speech Pathology, Neuroscience, Neuropsychology and Dementia research was an invaluable experience that continues to influence my clinical practice today.

Speech isn't simply a way of expressing our thoughts, it reflects the incredibly complex interaction between language, memory, attention, executive function and motor control. As these systems begin to change, our speech often changes too.

Emerging research suggests that subtle alterations in speech and language may one day help us identify Alzheimer's disease earlier, monitor progression more objectively, and provide accessible, non-invasive digital biomarkers alongside existing diagnostic methods.

There's still plenty of work to do before that becomes routine clinical practice, but it's an exciting direction for both dementia research and speech pathology.

I'm proud to have contributed to this publication and am grateful to everyone involved in bringing it to fruition.

Reference
Dhareshwar, S., Kane, M., Lewis, C., Mineur, R., Yao, K., Snyder, P. J., Alber, J., Robb, C., Lim, Y. Y., & Vogel, A. P. (2026). Update on the current state of speech and language testing in Alzheimer's disease. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 112(1), 5–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/13872877261446637

26/06/2026

Do you ever consider the heart as a possible cause of dysphagia?

This 2026 case series describes three patients whose swallowing difficulties were ultimately linked to severe cardiac disease and enlargement of the left atrium, resulting in mechanical compression of the oesophagus.

For Speech Pathologists, it's a powerful reminder that dysphagia isn't always neurological, muscular, or oesophageal in origin. When symptoms don't fit the picture, when investigations seem contradictory, or when a patient has significant cardiac disease, it may be worth considering whether the problem is occurring outside the swallow tract altogether.

Sometimes the most important clue isn't in the pharynx.
It's in the anatomy surrounding it.

Reference
Margol, C., Ali, S., Randhawa, N., Sridhar, S., & Sifuentes, H. (2026). Cardiac dysphagia: When the heart disrupts swallowing. Cureus, 18(5), e109146. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.109146

Address

Coomera Specialist And Diagnostic Centre
Gold Coast, QLD

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm

Website

http://www.medicalspeechpathology.com.au/

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