Meet our village

It takes a village

Two community-based speech pathologists, two working mums, and a shared belief that everyone deserves support to thrive.

Our story

How it started: two mums and a café table

One morning, we were sitting together in a local café, two working mums planning our clinical day ahead as community-based speech pathologists. We began discussing the benefits of community-based therapy, how much we enjoyed it, and all the positive impacts that can occur working with families in the community.

This is where our ideas started to evolve and take shape, building upon our knowledge, personal experiences and the existing treatment approaches that we knew so well and expanding them to encompass an even greater wholistic, client-centred, trauma-informed, neuro-affirming approach.

It was at that point that we knew that we needed to step away from our current positions and start to build our dream, working towards contributing to the ever-improving speech pathology space in the community setting for the benefit of our clients, their families and the wider community. We wanted to help more people with the knowledge that we had and contribute positively to how the community views and includes people with disabilities.

We are personally driven to make change happen in the community setting for ourselves, our families and our overall community. As a neurodivergent mum (Stephanie) and a mum of a neurodivergent child (Leia), we understand the value that people with disabilities bring to all those around them. We also understand the barriers and challenges that families, carers, support workers and educators face and how we can offer positive support.

We recognise the significance of a support network for the individual and how it can take a village to support a person to thrive and find their best quality of life, and this is why Our Village Allied Health was created. We wanted to start to make a difference in our community and contribute towards positively changing the disability space within the wider community.

Your journey is your own, but you don't have to walk it alone. We'd love to be part of your village.

Client-centred
Trauma-informed
Neuro-affirming
Family-focused
Community-based

Leia Wilton

Speech Pathologist

Leia's client-first, family-based approach is what enables her to work with families to provide meaningful and functional communication support within the community setting. Leia has been working with families as an allied health assistant in a private practice since 2018, practising as a qualified speech pathologist since 2021 within the community setting, and mentoring speech pathology students and early career speech clinicians since 2023.

Leia has skills and experience working with people of all ages and diagnoses, specialising in supporting the communication needs of children with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and trauma.

Leia has lived within the Gold Coast community since 2011, raising her two children, studying for her qualifications and working with families and education institutes. Leia is a mum of a special needs child and has additional personal knowledge and experience navigating the NDIS and services within the community as a parent. Leia is very passionate about helping participants and families to learn, develop and thrive.

Family-based therapy
Autism & ADHD
Trauma-informed care
Navigating the NDIS
Clinical mentoring

Steph

Speech Pathologist

Steph is a Speech Pathologist with a passion for helping people stay connected through mealtimes and communication. She has a special interest in adult dysphagia (swallowing disorders) and is passionate about helping people continue to safely enjoy the connection, comfort, and community that often comes with sharing a meal.

Steph has also completed additional training in supporting children with hearing loss and has particular interests in social communication, Key Word Sign, and Auslan, which she is currently learning. As someone with ADHD herself, Steph brings both professional knowledge and lived experience to her practice and celebrates all communication styles.

Known for her warm, bubbly, and empathetic nature, Steph loves building genuine relationships with the people and families she supports. She believes the best outcomes come from truly getting to know each person and creating therapy that feels meaningful, functional, and engaging.

When she's not working, you'll find Steph behind a drum kit, reading with her daughter, or laughing loud enough for the world to hear. After completing a Bachelor of Languages and Linguistics (specialising in Greek and Japanese), she went on to complete a Master of Speech Pathology. Her love of language, a good chat, and the connection created through shared mealtimes made speech pathology a natural choice.

Adult dysphagia
Mealtimes
Hearing loss
Social communication
Key Word Sign & Auslan