28/08/2026
This week is Speech Language Pathologist week! A huge shout out to our SLPs working across schools within the Queensland Department of Education, especially Jessica Lanza and Maggie Flynn, who support the staff and students at Dysart State School.
The ability to communicate can change everything for a student, and that’s what drives speech pathologist Maddi every day 💬
Based at Longreach State School, Maddi supports students from Kindy to Year 12 across nine state schools throughout the region. Long distances between schools are part of the job, so our speech language pathologists work flexibly to meet the needs of schools and students, through both face-to-face and online support.
‘I quickly fell in love with speech pathology and the opportunity to support people with their communication,’ Maddi said.
‘My little brother attended speech pathology, so I enjoyed hearing about his sessions and watching his progress. Seeing the difference it made for him inspired me to follow the same path.’
Now, Maddi helps students with everything from speech and language development to literacy, stuttering and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).
‘One of the most rewarding parts of my role is seeing students make progress and become more confident in the classroom,’ she said.
‘I particularly love seeing teachers and school staff become more confident in supporting their students, especially when it comes to AAC.’
For Maddi, the combination of flexible support, strong relationships and getting out into regional communities is what makes the job so rewarding.
‘Most importantly, I love knowing that I can make a meaningful difference to a student’s ability to communicate, participate and feel confident at school.’ 💛
Thanks Maddi, and all the other speechies, for the difference you make across our schools.
