Day in the Life of Josie

What is your role?

Speech Pathologist

What is a fun fact about you that people may not know?

I am obsessed with ultimate frisbee and have visited 45 countries.

Why did you choose to work in this industry?

I have worked in the disability my whole life in many different roles, so I cannot imagine doing anything else.

What do you love about your role?

Variety is the spice of life. Every day is different for me – I travel to different places in Sydney in a variety of contexts from day cares to supported assisted living homes servicing a plethora of different diagnoses and demographics. I am literally never bored!

What does an average day in your role look like?

My mornings start off slow, I usually spend them answering emails, completing random admin tasks or report writing, as well as coming up with new resources to keep my clients entertained. Then after lunch, I typically hit the road to see my clients of the day!

Can you recall a time when you helped make a difference in someone’s life?

I was servicing a 12 year old boy and his younger brother who were both on the autism spectrum and non verbal. Until that point, they had never seen a speech pathologist and had no communication system to use. I helped to trial and acquire an Augmented Assistive Communication system (AAC) for them so they could clearly express their needs for the first time! It was emotional and very, very rewarding to see how quickly they picked up on the system.