Amanda Spirit-Jones

Amanda Spirit-Jones
Position: Senior Speech Pathologist

I love my job because…

I cherish the moments where I see my clients laugh as they participate in games with their friends, tell their siblings to “go away!”, and say “I love you” to their mum for the first time. I was drawn to choose a career in speech pathology through my own appreciation of life’s simple pleasures of delicious food and socialising with family and friends.

I can help you with…

Continuing my PhD research by exploring the best assessments and motor-learning intervention for infants at risk of cerebral palsy who have feeding difficulties. After graduating with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Speech Pathology from the University of Sydney in 2007, my drive to provide current evidence-based practice led me to return to complete my PhD.

I have gained extensive experience in assessing and treating babies, children and adults with mild to profound disabilities including cerebral palsy, autism, Down syndrome, global development delay and other neurological impairments and genetic disorders. I specialise in supporting clients with feeding and swallowing difficulties, transitioning off feeding tubes and progressing through feeding aversions.

I have also gained a wealth of knowledge in the assessment, prescription and implementation of alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) systems. These AAC systems include Key Word Sign, low-tech, and state of the art high-tech communication systems such as various iPad apps and dedicated communication devices with direct or alternative switch and eye-gaze access options.