Testimonials

Gwyneth gave me a new voice to start a new chapter in my life. She is very patient with various problems I face with my voice. She prescribes tailored practices for my voice. For me, this is extremely important as I wanted to attain a convincing female voice as soon as possible, which might take years to achieve if I just follow online video guides. The lessons are enjoyable and she always goes the extra mile to make sure I understand the important points in each lesson.

– Lynn

Lynn underwent voice feminisation therapy. She received a total of 20 hrs of treatment stretched across weekly and fortnightly sessions. She also had a mixture of in-clinic and telepractice sessions via ZOOM.
She is now on monthly/bimonthly reviews to ensure the calibration and health of her voice.
Through the session, Lynn has learnt how to make fine adjustments to her voice and has confidence in using her voice at work, in social situations and with her loved ones. Well done Lynn!
She has kindly allowed sample recordings of her voice pre and post treatment.

Pre-therapy

 

Post-therapy, Reading task

 

Post-therapy, spontaneous monologue

 

I spent many months reading and trying to feminise my voice on my own, to very little effect. After a year with Gwyneth, I wished that I had started voice feminisation with her sooner. Gwyneth was incredibly flexible and understanding in my limitations as an nsf [National Service Fulltime] and gladly worked around it and my lack of private space to practice. Frankly, things will get hard and you will be frustrated, but stick with it, Gwyneth will patiently and consistently try to find something that works for you and guide you through it.

It’s been a breath of life, feeling that my voice is finally my own and that I can present myself as I am. Having friends rave and be in awe at how good and natural your voice sounds is one of the best feelings in the world.

– Laura

Laura underwent voice feminisation therapy with me.  We worked on voice conditioning, pitch, and more importantly, resonance/register adjustments at her targeted training pitch.  Some sessions were also done via telepractice (Zoom).  Through time, she developed a better awareness of her voice and was able to monitor it well.  It is very satisfying when a patient undergoing voice feminisation can finally identify with her voice.

She has very kindly allowed a voice sample of her reading “The Game”.  Have a listen to the pre and post treatment examples!

Well Done Laura!

Pre Treatment, 115Hz

 

Post Treatment, 232Hz

 

Our son started stuttering at the age of 2. It is a difficult/worrisome time for parents as we didn’t know what to do and also can see the difficulty it creates for our son. We did seek a couple different opinions and tried a treatment but over the course of 2.5 year we didn’t have a lot of progress and more importantly Our son was demotivated to continue treatment. After a period of break – due to our sons de-motivation, things were going worse and we did restart the search. We did contact Gwyneth and she had availability to start seeing our son. First of all – from day 1 – she had excellent connect with our son. Despite different specialists use/follow same methodology- the main difference is with the person herself/himself. We had an intensive effort together and had meaningful progress over the course of 2+ years where today we are at a point our son overcame a lot of obstacles. One great point to highlight the connect between Gwyneth and our son is that – he actually love to see Gwyneth more frequently but as he improved now it is not needed:) As a parent – I hope you can have a chance to collaborate with Gwyneth in this journey – that requires resilience and patience. We are very grateful for all help / support Gwyneth gave us over the course of years.

– Cinar S

*Alex* was a 5 year old boy, who came to me for the treatment of stuttering after undergoing the Lidcombe program for stuttering with another therapist for 2 yrs. The challenge with someone who has had previous treatment is always to figure out what was done and what worked (and didn’t) for both parent and child.

When we first met, he presented as an intelligent and competitive boy who set high expectations of himself. He was definitely aware and sensitive towards his disfluencies. He did not like receiving any positive feedback about his speech and his first language was not English.

We had to work around building trust and rapport between therapist and child. Teaming up with the parent (in this case his mother) was critical for the child. His mother knew what didn’t work out from the previous therapist.  Eg can you say ‘truck’ smoothly? The child would shut down as he knew that if he tried again, the chance of him stuttering would be high. The child did not like explicit praise given to his speech.

This child underwent the Lidcombe program again with a combination of a short period of syllable timed speech. We worked towards conditioning his fluency and desensitizing him to praise and correction for fluent/non fluent speech. This had to be skillfully and gradually done by taking in feedback from his mother each week, close observations of the child’s reaction to verbal contingencies in clinic and careful selection of motivating tasks to bring out more fluent speech.

This really emphasizes the importance of 1) trust and rapport building between child and therapist. 2) collaboration between parents and therapist. 3) perseverance from his mother in carrying out daily treatment for the child and support from his father. 4) the importance of adapting a program to suit each child within a evidenced based framework ie Lidcombe Program.

Dear Ms Lee,

Thank you very much for helping me with my voice problem. Now I know what’s my voice problem, I don’t need to panic or even be over anxious when my voice goes into spasm. I will just stop for a little while and then continue speaking. I realise that my voice spasm is still there. I must learn to speak with gentleness. Telegraphic [speech] is a help too. The exercises you gave help me to minimise my spasm. It was most interesting to learn something from you regarding my voice. There’s always so much to learn in life.
Thank you very  much for your patience and understanding with my voice problem, Ms Lee. I look forward to seeing you again on [xxx] October.
With best wishes for the professional job that you are doing. Samuel [her singing teacher] says you are very hard to come by. He must be right.
With sincere regards,
Gloria G
Gloria was diagnosed with vocal tremor which was interfering with her ability to communicate effectively at work.  Telegraphic speech was a technique I came across when attending a voice conference.  This technique worked out well to help Gloria reduce her vocal tremor.

Gwyneth is professional, knowledgeable in her area of expertise, authentic and sincere. In the last eight months, she has helped Nicky so much with her disfluency. She taught Nicky techniques to overcome her speech challenges and has also been a great source of encouragement in positively guiding Nicky. We saw results and improvement just after two sessions.

We are so delighted that Nicky is now able to express herself fluently and has gained much confidence in her interaction with family and friends. Apart from Gwyneth’s expertise, we are especially thankful too for the level of care she has shown Nicky. Gwyneth has been a gem and we are so glad to be working with her.

Jacqueline (Nicky’s mum)

Nicole was treated with the Camperdown Program for stuttering.  There are 4 stages in the Camperdown program which aims to increase the control of her speech.  Nicole did stage 2 in an intensive format and stage 3 & 4 through tele practice via Zoom (due to Covid).  Her parents were very supportive of her throughout the therapy.  She was given the option to come back for face-to-face sessions but they found Zoom to be just as effective.

My daughter, Layla, was diagnosed with nodules on her voice chords and was referred to Ms Gwyneth for voice therapy. We had no idea what to expect but Gwyneth was so encouraging and supportive.

Gwyneth has been extremely positive and professional. Layla looked forward to each session because it was always fun and engaging. Her voice improved steadily and the techniques and exercises introduced to us were easy to apply in our daily routine.

It’s been a few months since our last session and Layla’s voice has continued to improve. We are so thankful to have met Gwyneth.

  • Helen, Layla’s Mummy

 

Therapy sessions with Gwyneth are always purposeful, positive and encouraging.

Gwyneth’s expertise and professionalism makes me feel safe and at ease. Kind and competent, she has been supportive and attentive to the needs of my changing voice. Her explanations are clear and she demonstrates exercises so that I have no problem following through at home.

Gwyneth’s committment shines through as her therapy sessions are always well-planned and enjoyable. She is caring and sensitive, making sessions something to look forward to! With consistent practice and guidance for 2 months, my voice has changed significantly for the better. I am grateful to have her as my therapist.

– Denise

Denise was 18 years old when she first came for voice therapy. She had an unusual high pitched voice quality with a limited speaking and weaker lower range. Puberphonia, even though more common in males, can occur in females too. It is characterised by a habitual and continuous use of the pre-adolescent, high pitched voice of a child even after puberty.  This condition is also known as mutational falsetto or functional falsetto. Denise had weekly sessions for 2 months where we worked on reducing tension sites and finding her lower range while maintaining resonance. Once we found her physiological lower pitch, we worked on vocal stamina and habituating her speaking voice. Denise was very hardworking and consistent with her daily voice practice. Once she found her full range of the speaking voice, Denise expressed an interest in exploring singing. I referred Denise to an experienced singing teacher. It was a pleasure to maintain open communication with her singing teacher to discuss voicing patterns noticed in both Denise’s singing and speaking voice.  This overlap between voice therapy and singing lessons had a synergetic effect on stabilising Denise’s modal range for both singing and speaking 🙂

Aaron Cheng - Stuttering Treatment for Adults (Telepractice, Camperdown Program)

Gwyneth is an excellent speech therapist, her patient and encouraging persona is very helpful in aiding me to develop the right speech techniques to overcome my speech dysfluencies. Due to the COVID-19 situation, most of my speech therapy sessions with Gwyneth is via Skype and ZOOM, but there is no slack in the intensity. Over the Internet, Gwyneth helped me to correct my speech patterns and maintain the rigour in applying speech techniques through the weekly sessions. In the later segment of the therapy, Gwyneth helped me to transfer what I have learnt into my daily life: conversations with family, friends, strangers and also public speaking. Thank you, Gwyneth!

With much gratitude,
Aaron Cheng

It was a pleasure to work with Aaron on his speech. Aaron had stuttering and was treated with speech restructuring (Camperdown Program). This means that he had to learn a new way of speaking to help him coordinate and control his speech better. Due to the Covid-19 situation, Aaron had most of his therapy sessions via Telepractice with ZOOM/SKYPE as a platform. He had about 18 weekly sessions to treat the stuttering. In addition to being consistent in his weekly attendance, Aaron was very diligent and disciplined in his speech practice. He was very determined to use his new speech pattern in his day to day situations e.g. with his family and at work meetings. Well done Aaron!

The use of Telepractice for the treatment of stuttering has been well researched. There are randomised controlled trials supporting the effectiveness of treating stuttering with the Lidcombe Program (pre-schoolers) and the Camperdown Program (adolescents and adults). Treating stuttering via Telepractice can be just as effective as treatment at the clinic. Some advantages include: less travel time, learning in a familiar and comfortable environment, ease of generalising the new speech pattern into real daily situations.

In my experience with Telepractice since 2014, it may not be suitable for everyone. The strengths and potential limitations of Telepractice have to be discussed with each patient/caregiver. Some factors that I may consider are: maturity and nature of the school-aged child/teenager/adolescent, motivation levels, patient needs, parent- child dynamics and language barriers

 

A good window to treat stuttering is in its preschool years. Starting at too young an age (<4yrs) can drag treatment time out as the child may not be mature enough. But the decision to start treatment for Elias was based on the severity of stuttering and the distress it was causing to both parent and child.
The Lidcombe program takes a behavioural approach to treat stuttering. The treatment steers and shapes stuttering towards fluent speech. Parents learn to structure activities and their interaction such that the child practices more fluent speech in daily doses. Through treatment and conditioning of fluent speech, the structuring can gradually lessen as the child becomes more fluent.
Parent involvement in stuttering treatment of a preschooler is crucial. Sarah, Elias’s mother, took on feedback and supported Elias very well throughout the program.
I stumbled upon Gwyneth after searching online for a speech therapist to help with my son’s stuttering. I can’t actually put it into words how lucky we are to have found her.
On our first meeting, I broke down. Watching my outgoing and chatty 3 year old boy turn into a shell of his former self was completely heart breaking. Elias had stopped conversing as he had lost his confidence due to severe stuttering.
Enter Gwyneth! Warm and articulate, she helped him by devising a treatment plan using evidence based practise. Being a mom herself, Gwyneth is extremely patient and understanding with Elias. Sessions were always fun and he always looked forward to seeing her.
As for me, it felt like I had made a new friend. Gwyneth is warm with a great sense of humour. She supported me at all stages throughout the treatment plan, providing detailed guidance on how to support my son’s development between sessions.
Elias is now an effective communicator thanks to Gwyneth. I can’t recommend her enough. Our family will always remember her fondly.
Sarah (Elias’  mother)

Vera was first assessed in November 2017 when she was 2.5 years old. We held off treatment as we felt she was slightly young. Meanwhile, her father was vigilant in monitoring her speech progress and reporting it to me on a monthly basis. Vera’s stuttering was sporadic in nature. After monitoring for a year, we decided it was the best time to start treatment.

As our first child, we didn’t quite know what to expect when Vera first exhibited symptoms of stuttering at the age of 3 (both audio and visual cues). We weren’t sure if it was merely a passing phase as part of speech development or something more deep rooted. We decided to have her assessed with a speech therapist, after the occurences started to increase and in greater severity too, which caused much distress to us. After doing research on available options, we settled on Gwyneth, based on her experience particularly with children and being a mother of two young ones herself.

Vera is typically shy with strangers but she took to Gwyneth easily. Sessions always went very smoothly, with both Vera and us learning along the way. She always looks forward to sessions with Gwyneth. In fact, as we progressed further into the program and had more spaced out sessions, Vera often lamented that she was seeing less of ‘Teacher Gwyneth’. Progress certainly didn’t happen overnight; we already had our expectations set from the get go and that as parents, we do need to be very patient and involved too in the therapy, to gain optimal outcome for the child. Nonetheless, we are both surprised and elated that within the short span of a few months, it was clear there was an increasing significant improvement in Vera’s speech.

Throughout the engagement, Gwyneth has always been very approachable and patient with our concerns and queries. She is supportive and provides encouragement, particularly in the times of recurrences and updates the ‘game plan’ accordingly. It’s obvious she genuinely cares for Vera and we have always felt assured that Vera would get better under Gwyneth’s guidance. We’re proud and immensely grateful to Gwyneth that as of today, Vera is able to speak confidently with almost non-detectable stuttering.

– Arthur (Vera’s Father)