OUR TEAM
Our Story
April and Vanessa are the co-directors and founders of Words and Beyond Speech Therapy.
They became close friends working together in private practice, and they realised how well they work together as a team! They both are hard working, passionate and dedicated to all the children and families they work with. When the opportunity arose, April and Vanessa decided to start their own practice together, to support children with speech, language, literacy, social and functional communication difficulties, in their local communities. Many of these children are neurodivergent, and the team have completed additional training to ensure they are continually learning and implementing a neuroaffirming approach in all sessions.
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The team has gradually expanded, as the clinic has grown, and this has allowed Words and Beyond to widen services including running multiple termly and school holiday groups, group therapy at kindergartens through school readiness funding, and Autism diagnostic assessments. We are always looking for new Speech Pathologists to join our team, so please get in contact if you are interested in applying!
APRIL LYELL
Co-Director
Paediatric Speech Pathologist
April graduated from La Trobe University with a Bachelor of Health Sciences and Masters of Speech Pathology.
She has had a variety of experience working as a Speech Pathologist with children, adolescents and young adults, from the ages of 2-20, in clinic, school, childcare/kinder and home settings.
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April developed a passion for Speech Pathology and helping others, following seeing her younger brother attend and develop his communication in Speech Pathology sessions, as well as, her interest in language and psychology during her studies.
Her interest areas include receptive and expressive language, social and function language, and literacy. April loves working with children with Autism, Dyslexia, Developmental Language Disorder and language delays. She particularly enjoys working with neurodivergent, upper primary school aged children, adolescents and young adults. She is extremely passionate, attentive to detail and demonstrates excellence in all she does. April believes that nothing is more rewarding than seeing children progress and achieve their communication goals.
April has completed Professional Development Training in:
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Sounds~Write First Rate Phonics (Literacy Program)
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Hanen: More than Words
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Play Skills - Learn to Play Therapy
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Social Thinking - The Incredible Flexible You and We Thinkers Series
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Colourful Semantics
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Mindful - ASD Assessment Fundamentals & Co-Morbidities
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Mindful - Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2) Introductory Workshop
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Diagnosing DLD with Confidence
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Play Learn Chat - Neurodiversity Affirming Practice (various webinars and workshops)
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Amy Graham - Tackling Tricky Cases: Effective Treatment for Speech Sound Disorders in Children
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April became a Mum in 2024 to a 1 year old boy. She currently is working part time in the clinic and via Telehealth.
In her spare time, you can find April eating at gluten free cafes with her little family, relaxing watching TV with her cats, doing pilates, and catching up with family and friends.
VANESSA FITZGERALD
Co-Director
Paediatric Speech Pathologist
Vanessa graduated from La Trobe University with a Bachelor of Applied Sciences and Masters of Speech Pathology.
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She has had a variety of experience working as a Speech Pathologist with children and adolescents from the ages of 2-18, in clinic, school, childcare/kinder and community settings.
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Vanessa has always wanted to work in a field where she could help people communicate, having had all three of her siblings require speech therapy intervention. Her passion started when she was young and her vision continued throughout her studies until she graduated. She has been working in private practice ever since and loves being able to make a long-lasting impact in children's lives.
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Her interest areas include stuttering, receptive and expressive language, social skills and literacy. Vanessa loves working with children with Autism, Intellectual Disabilities, speech sound disorders and language delays. She is passionate about providing client centred care through a holistic approach, and strengthening the confidence of all her clients.
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Vanessa has completed Professional Development Training in:
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Sounds~Write First Rate Phonics (Literacy Program)
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Hanen: More than Words
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Colourful Semantics
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Mindful - ASD Assessment Fundamentals & Co-Morbidities
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Mindful - Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2) Introductory Workshop
-
Diagnosing DLD with Confidence
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Play Learn Chat - Neurodiversity Affirming Practice (various webinars and workshops)
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Jennie Bjorem - Practical Strategies and Resources: Your Toolkit for CAS
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Amy Graham - Tackling Tricky Cases: Effective Treatment for Speech Sound Disorders in Children
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In her spare time, you will find Vanessa playing with and walking her spoodle, Marley, going out for brunch, shopping, and spending time with her husband and extended family.
KAYLA CARERI
Paediatric Speech Pathologist
Kayla recently completed her Master’s of Speech Pathology at La Trobe University. Kayla has also graduated from a Bachelor of Health Science degree, majoring in medical sciences (Anatomy and Physiology). Kayla has also been a tutor for over 5 years and has extensive experience working with children with Autism, ADHD, dyslexia and Auditory Processing Disorders.
Kayla was an Allied Health Assistant at Words and Beyond in 2025 and her clients have loved their sessions every week!
Kayla enjoys working in the areas of: ​
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Receptive and Expressive Language
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Literacy
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Social Communication
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Stuttering
Kayla recently got married and went traveling to Japan! When Kayla is not busy studying or working, she loves to go to the gym, find fun foodie spots around Melbourne with her husband and friends, and watch her beloved Saints play footy!
HIRUNI SENEVIRATNE
Paediatric Speech Pathologist
Hiruni completed her Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences from Monash University and then completed her Masters of Speech Pathology at Melbourne University.
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She currently is working part time at W&B on Thursdays and Fridays in the clinic. Hiruni also works part time at a major hospital in a mental health assessment team with other allied health professionals, focusing on supporting young people aged between 12-25.
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Her interest areas include working with children with receptive and expressive language and speech sound disorders.
Hiruni has completed Professional Development Training in: ​
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Mindful - ASD Assessment Fundamentals & Co-Morbidities​
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Amy Graham - Tackling Tricky Cases: Effective Treatment for Speech Sound Disorders in Children
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RAMNA SAFDAR
Paediatric Speech Pathologist
Ramna completed her Bachelor of medical science degree from the University of Technology in Sydney and then completed her Masters of Speech Pathology at Canberra university in 2024.
She has experience working as a Speech pathologist with children, adolescents, young people and adults, in clinic, school, childcare/kinder and home settings. She also has experience supporting autistic children, those with ADHD, and intellectual disability.
Her interest areas include working with children with receptive and expressive language and the early intervention population. She believes in a holistic and family centred approach and maintains a neuroaffirmative therapy approach and places an emphasis to keep up to date with new research, as well as learning from the neurodivergent community.
Ramna has completed Professional Development Training in:
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Hanen- More than Words
When Ramna’s not at work you’ll find her spending time with her family and friends, trying out new brunch spots or Netflix and chilling with her cats!
BARBARA
Receptionist
ROBYN
Receptionist