My passion for working with children developed from a very early age. I independently ran a children's service at my local religious centre from the age of 12. Although I did not know it at the time, it was then where I made the decision to become a paediatric speech pathologist. During these weekly services, I enjoyed playing with all the children, but there was one particular boy who caught my attention (and my heart!) Despite this boy's friendliness and kindness, and obvious desire to play with the other children, he always seemed to end up on the sidelines playing by himself. I often noticed the other children looking confused and then walking away from him, as he had trouble answering their simple questions and participating in their pretend play. I also found him quite difficult to understand, and I assumed the other children also had this problem. The clear social and emotional impact this child's communication skills were having, resonated with me for years to come, until I stumbled across the speech pathology profession in my final years of high school.

In the first years of my Speech Pathology career, I completed my PhD while working part-time in a clinical role. During this time, I also undertook casual academic research, lecturing and clinical supervision. In 2020, I became a Lecturer in Speech Pathology at University of Queensland (UQ). Despite my enjoyment of academia, it was (and continues to be) my clients and their families who motivated me to get out of bed each morning - either to educate students at university, or to work directly with these children and their families.

I started Exceed Speech with the aim of merging my research and clinical expertise, to provide effective early intervention to children with communication and learning difficulties