Ms Heather Yeoman spent much of her childhood in Kenya, where her parents served as missionaries, before returning to Australia for high school and university. She has worked in a variety of locations including the United States, Tanzania, country Western Australia, and in acute care hospitals and Language Development Centres in Perth, before moving into school-based therapy several years ago.

Two of Ms Yeoman’s children have graduated from Swan Christian College, and her youngest is currently attending high school. She describes it as a great privilege to now be working at the same College her children have attended.

This year, Ms Yeoman joined Swan Christian College as the College Speech Pathologist, a role that combines her love for language, communication, and supporting students. Speech Pathologists work in both health and education settings, diagnosing and treating speech, language, comprehension, and literacy difficulties, as well as voice, fluency, swallowing, and feeding disorders.

At the College, Ms Yeoman is part of the Learning Enrichment team, where she assesses students’ language and literacy skills and runs small, targeted intervention groups. These groups, directed by the Learning Enrichment leadership team, span from Kindergarten through to Year 10 and focus on writing, reading comprehension, phonological awareness, early literacy, and social language skills.

“It has been an absolute joy to see students engaging with skills covered in the group setting and developing their language and literacy skills,” Ms Yeoman said.