You know your child best. If you are unsure as to whether there is an issue or not, base your decision to see a speech therapist on the fact that your concern for your child is real.

It’s never too early to seek help. Early identification and intervention means a better outcome. If you are concerned about your child, the sooner we identify potential speech, language or auditory processing skills (a child’s ability to process what they hear in the same way other children do) the sooner we can start addressing these difficulties. If struggling to communicate his or her needs, your child or teen may experience feelings of frustration. They may find it difficult to make friends and interact socially. We will assess their overall communication ability in a nurturing and non-threatening environment.

There are certain milestones that are considered ‘normal’ for babies and toddlers but each child is unique. We can help to assess whether or not your child’s speech and language skills are age appropriate and whether there might be other less easily identifiable issues. Together we will work on a speech therapy approach for your child’s particular needs.

Every child and every circumstance is unique but there are certain age-appropriate milestones that are considered ‘normal’. Here are some red flags that could indicate your child may require a speech therapist:

Other signals that you should look out for in your child:

Consult a speech therapist if your child is:

A psychologist is someone who provides a safe and confidential space in which children, adolescents, adults and/or families can discuss their challenges, and in doing so start to resolve the underlying emotional/situational difficulties that motivated them to come to therapy. Furthermore, a psychologist is trained to help people explore and identify both the conscious and unconscious influences and motivations behind the emotional, behavioural, relational and/or functional challenges that they may be experiencing. The hope is that through the therapeutic process, and gained insight, people will become emotionally more contained and empowered, and in doing so live happier and more fulfilling lives.

This is a difficult question to answer. If you are concerned about your child, or if your child is in distress or acting out, and the situation is not improving, then maybe it’s time to seek some help. As psychologists we are not here to place blame, nor does your child seeing a psychologist and you seeking some help and guidance mean that you have failed as a parent. The role of the psychologist is to support the child and family and assist them with getting back to a happier way of functioning. The hope is that in supporting the child, and working with the family, that we can lower the emotional pressures on the child and provide the parent with valuable insight that they can use to better understand, and more sensitively respond to the emotional, behavioural and/or relational challenges that the child is experiencing.

Typically the psychologist likes to meet with just the parents for the first session where he/she takes a detailed history, get to know the family, and discuss the current challenges. The first session is also an opportunity for you to meet the psychologist and for you to decide if you feel that he/she will be a good fit for your child. After this initial session with the parents, the psychologist typically meets with the child for three sessions where the child and therapist can get to know each other and start to identify and discuss the challenges that they are experiencing. This is usually followed by a parent feedback session where we share insights and start to come up with strategies to support the child in their emotional life. It is also in this feedback session that we discuss what may be the best way going forward. Our psychologist likes to work closely with both the child and parents, and when indicated the teacher or other helping professionals. We feel that the child should not be seen in isolation, and that more positive outcomes are often associated with the involvement of all role players in the child’s life.

Sensory processing is a term used to describe how the nervous system receives information from the body’s senses and then turns that information into a response.  A child who has Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), will be disorganised and react inappropriately to stimuli within the environment. There are seven senses or sensory areas; tactile, olfactory, auditory, visual, taste, vestibular, and proprioception (sense of body/joint movement and knowing where the body is in space).

A child with SPD can be over (hyper-) or under (hypo-) responsive to sensory input, as well as seeking it out or avoiding. We all process sensory information on a continuum, and may demonstrate some symptoms of SPD, however when the symptoms affect the ability to function on a daily basis, impacting on engagement and interaction or the ability to learn through experiences; intervention may be necessary.

If your child craves or avoids certain experiences, this does not necessarily mean they have SPD. The symptoms generally occur in a cluster, and would need to impact on every day function, in order to be diagnosed with SPD.

No, weight is one of the many areas that a dietitian can assist adult or paediatric patients with. This includes cases of obesity, weight loss surgery, and extreme weight loss due to disease.

Dietitians can also help with therapeutic nutrition regarding chronic or acute diseases and conditions for both adults and children. These include adults with Diabetes, Hypertension, Cardiovascular Disease, Arthritis, Gout, Cancer, HIV, kidney or liver failure, as well as multiple other conditions. It also includes children with Diabetes, ADHD, autism, epilepsy, Cystic Fibrosis, Cerebral Palsy and more.

Dietitians also assist with general gastrointestinal disorders like diarrhoea, constipation, heartburn, stomach ulcers, acid reflux, allergies, anaemia, irritable bowel syndrome, Chron’s Disease, gallstones and kidney stones as well as all gastrointestinal surgery conditions and specialised feedings, like PEGs, gastronomies and swallowing difficulties.

Your dietitian can also help you with areas around appropriate infant and young child feeding, breastfeeding, fussy eaters, appetite loss and growth faltering.

And, of course, your dietitian can help with advice and education regarding all aspects of healthy eating, nutrition and supplementation.

A dietitian consultation is absolutely personalised to your individual needs and no two consultations are alike. We do, however, follow a general structure in our initial consultation. An anthropometric assessment will be done to determine weight, height and BMI for adults and children, and children’s growth can be plotted and monitored.  It is always best to bring along your child’s Road to Health Booklet or clinic card to assess growth trends. We also take a thorough medical and medication history and have a look at any biochemistry (blood results) that have been done. Your dietitian will look at your patterns of eating, preferences and diet history, as well as looking at any gastrointestinal symptoms.

Recommendations, guidelines or nutrition prescriptions are put together in the consultation. The guidelines recommended are tailored to your preference in a step-by-step fashion that are built onto and scaled up in follow-up consultations. A meal plan and menu can also be created for follow-up sessions, as well as providing any additional resources of information or guidance. A summarised report can be sent to your doctor if requested.

Clinical neuropsychology is an established specialized field examining behaviour in relation to brain dysfunction. Neuropsychology overlaps closely with the clinical neurosciences and psychology. In South Africa, neuropsychology is a fairly new profession, with training being offered since the early 2000s and professional registration since 2019.

A neuropsychologist uses non-invasive, game-like tasks to measure the current level of a person’s cognitive function (i.e., how a person’s brain is working). Cognitive function is a broad term that includes a variety of abilities and mental processes such as thinking, attention, memory, language, and decision making. Where, for example, a clinical psychologist may diagnose a mental health condition such as depression or anxiety and engages in a therapeutic relationship with a patient, a neuropsychologist instead determines potential difficulties or problems but also strengths across different or specific abilities or brain functions. Much like a clinical psychologist, a neuropsychologist may form part of a multidisciplinary team, involving specialists such as psychiatrists, neurologists, occupational therapists, and speech therapists, helping with diagnosis, establishing disease progression/disability/dysfunction and tracking rehabilitation efforts.

In adults, a neuropsychological assessment:

In children, a neuropsychological assessment: