Eat, Speak, Learn - Allied Health Services

09/03/2026

T and his family celebrating achieving therapy goals at the ESL forest at the National Arboretum. They’ve said this will be a new tradition for them, visiting the ESL forest to celebrate all big accomplishments.

When children achieve therapy goals with Eat Speak Learn, they earn a leaf to place on our clinic trees - a daily reminder that effort becomes progress. Families then receive coordinates to their tree at the National Arboretum Canberra so they can find their tree, take photos to celebrate these milestones.

Where’s the forest? Forest 21 - Mesa Oaks - the National Arboretum Canberra.

07/03/2026

Happy International Women’s Day! 💜

Today is a great moment to recognise the incredible women who make such a difference in our communities every day.
In allied health, women make up the majority of the workforce. They are the speech pathologists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, psychologists, dietitians, educators and so many others supporting people to communicate, learn, move and thrive.

It’s work that takes skill, care, patience and heart. It changes lives.

Today we celebrate the women across allied health who show up every day to support others, advocate for their clients, and make our health and education systems stronger.
Thank you for everything you do.

03/03/2026

More children and young people will be able to access Speech Pathology under Medicare with these new changes. Check out the details and speak to your GP if you think your child might be eligible.

02/03/2026

Working with a little one who finds toothpaste and brushing tricky, so we took the pressure off and took tooth brushing to the jungle. We found this cheeky monkey who needed some help brushing his teeth.

We brushed his teeth and cheeky monkey talked to us about how it felt to have his teeth brushed, the flavour of the toothpaste, and told us he liked to have a cup of water nearby in case he needed to wash his mouth out mid brush.

It was fun, it was low pressure and our little kiddo decided on his own that he’d take the monkeys advice to have a cup of water handy and had a go of brushing his teeth with toothpaste all on his own. What a win!

20/02/2026

We’ve nominated Eat Speak Learn for the 2026 Australian Allied Health Awards 🏆

Not because we think we’re perfect — but because we’ve worked hard over the past few years to build something sustainable.

A paediatric team that:
• recognises experience
• invests in career pathways
• values coordinated care
• and is built to last

To the hundreds of families who trust us, and the many practitioners who show up every day — this nomination belongs to you.

We’ll keep doing the work.

18/02/2026

Who Knew Dinosaurs Loved Grocery Shopping? 🦖🛒

Selective eating is tough… so we make therapy playful! Using child-led, interest-based strategies, our dietitians help kids build confidence around new foods in a way that feels fun, not forced.

This week’s mission: a dinosaur grocery adventure!

#

15/02/2026

🌟 Are you from a bilingual or multilingual family? 🌟
Are you worried that your little one might have a language delay because they aren't speaking English as well as their peers in daycare or preschool? 🗣️🤔
Did you know that this might actually be a language difference rather than a delay? 🌍
A language difference is when a child learns multiple languages and mixes words, making their English skills seem less developed compared to monolingual kids. 🧠👶 Research shows that bilingual or multilingual children can often catch up with their peers once they have more exposure to English. 📚💪

Still unsure? 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♂️

📅 Reach out if if you would like more information - support@eatspeaklearn.com.au. 🗓️✨ Our expert speech pathologists, who speak Mandarin and Korean, are ready to help assess and support bilingual and multilingual children.

12/02/2026

Living and working in Canberra means we’re often closer to policy conversations than most — and increasingly, we’re starting to see how the Thriving Kids initiative is coming together in practice.

Following a parliamentary inquiry that drew more than 400 submissions from across Australia, the Committee’s report has helped clarify the direction of reform: support for children with developmental needs needs to be earlier, better coordinated, and grounded in everyday settings — not delayed by complexity or driven by siloed systems.

We were proud to be Submission #4 to that inquiry, contributing early insight from clinicians and families working at the coalface.

What’s emerging now, alongside Minister Butler’s recent Thriving Kids announcements, reflects principles that many people in Canberra will recognise:
• designing systems around people, not structures
• using evidence to guide decisions
• reducing duplication and fragmentation
• and investing early to prevent long-term costs — human and financial

For us, this isn’t theoretical.

It’s how we’ve been shaping services for some time — working across health, education and community contexts, supporting families to navigate complexity, and giving clinicians the space to do thoughtful, evidence-based work.

Good policy only succeeds when it translates into good practice.

That’s the future we’re invested in — here in Canberra, but also nationally.

Report into the Thriving Kids initiative

11/02/2026

Many of our kitchen ninjas are heading into preschool or kindergarten this year! During the holidays we were tasked with exploring some lunchbox friendly ideas, that our ninjas could help their families prepare at home.

Together we learnt how to make:
🍣Sushi
✅Scones
🍉Fruit kebabs
✅Savoury muffins
🍪Bliss balls

We practised scooping, pouring, chopping, and mixing!

Helping to prepare foods is a lovely low presssure opportunity to learn about new foods, and participate in daily family routines. Our ninjas enjoyed using their sensory describing words to comments on how the ingredients, looked, smelt, sounded, and tasted. They even got to take their creations home to share with their families!

09/02/2026

Just a normal day at work! What does your workplace look like?

08/02/2026

It’s National lunchbox week 2026 this week!!

Lunchtimes connect and nourish us

This National Lunchbox Week, let’s create meaningful lunchtime experiences for children, where both their bodies and minds are nourished! Eating together gives children a chance to build relationships, chat, and enjoy the moment. 🍽️💛

Every lunchtime is a chance to connect and nourish us!

Visit the website for more information on creating positive mealtimes: lunchboxweek.org