Speech Pathologist - Nikki Martin Speech Pathologist, Sydney

Speech Pathology Services

Based in Sydney, Nikki Martin is a Speech Pathologist offering assessment and treatment across a wide spectrum of Voice, Speech and Swallowing problems. Speech Pathology can include objective, diagnostic Voice and Swallow Clinic assessments conducted jointly with an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) doctor (a GP referral to the ENT doctor is required).

“Who can be benefit from assessment and therapy?”

Anyone with swallowing problems. These can include:

Food sticking in the mouth or throat.
Avoidance of certain food types, like dry foods or foods that are hard to chew.
Repeated chest infections or pneumonia that may require a hospital stay.
Drooling of saliva or loss of food or fluid from the mouth.
Nasal regurgitation – food, drinks or saliva coming out of the nose.
An excessively dry mouth.

Taking more time to finish a meal.
epeated chest infections or pneumonia that may require a hospital stay.
People with Parkinson’s disease or other neurodegenerative disorders.
Nasal regurgitation – food, drinks or saliva coming out of the nose.
Patients experiencing swallowing issues for the first time after surgery (eg. thyroid, cardiac surgery or surgery to the face or neck).

“Who can be benefit from assessment and therapy?”

Anyone with voice issues. These can include

Difficulty producing the voice, or increased effort is required to produce the voice.
Vocal fatigue. It can be tiring to produce the voice, either all the time or after extended use.
Difficulty talking when there is background noise. This can be distressing as it may cause you to avoid certain social situations.
Diagnosed lumps or bumps on the vocal cords/vocal folds e.g. vocal nodules, cysts or polyps.
Teachers struggling with voice issues, eg. poor voice quality, sore throat when speaking, inability to project the voice, voice detriorates with extended use.
Thyroid issues (cysts, cancer etc) that cause voice changes, either before or after surgery.
Pitch changes, where either the speaking or singing pitch becomes higher or lower, or you may experience a reduced pitch range.
Reflux issues affecting the throat. Symptoms can include the feeling of a lump in the throat, voice changes, throat clearing, increased mucous in the back of the throat or a tickle in the throat.

Aweak, breathy voice that makes it difficult for other people to hear you. This may be obvious in face-to-face conversations or on the phone. It may happen all the time, or only when you’re tired or after extended use.
Chronic coughing/cough hypersensitivity disorder/VCD (vocal cord dysfunction)/laryngeal sensory neuropathy (LSN). Symptoms can vary from mild to severe coughing, voice issues, and or difficulty breathing.
Anyone with voice or speech issues caused by Parkinson’s disease or any other neurodegenerative diseases like Multiple Sclerosis (MS) or Motor Neurone Disease (MND or ALS).
Actors, singers, musical theatre or other performers who are having issues projecting the voice, maintaining voice quality, or who experience a reduced pitch range.
Anyone who is a professional voice user (their voice is necessary for them to fulfil their job) who wants better vocal training that will last throughout their career.

“If any of these issues sound familiar to you, or if you would like to chat a Speech Pathology professional in Sydney, please give Nikki a call to see if she can assist you. Sessions last 50 minutes and include a written report that’s submitted back to the specialist doctor or GP who made the referral. Nikki also offers Skype therapy sessions for people living at a distance or who are unable to attend face-to-face sessions for other reasons.”