Chatter Matters is a private speech language therapy practice based in New Plymouth, New Zealand. Established in 2010, it provides a prompt and dependable professional assessment and intervention service for children throughout the Taranaki region.
Chatter Matters is dedicated to developing children’s potential so that they have the ability to be happy and successful when communicating with others. Focusing on individual strengths, Chatter Matters aims to support and optimise communication skills right from birth through to young adulthood.
Working with children requires passion, patience and commitment; all of which are found by the bucketful at Chatter Matters. You can expect a service that is dedicated to making a difference. Sessions will be purposeful and relevant. There is a range of service options available - whichever your choice, you are guaranteed professionalism, experience and confidentiality.

Local study reveals need

The results of a project undertaken in Taranaki in 2009 revealed that when starting school, up to 30% of new entrants may still struggle with understanding some aspects of language. This includes making sense of basic concepts, verb tenses and questions – not knowing these can place some at a disadvantage with children being unable to follow teacher instructions or to make the meaningful links crucial for successful learning.
As many as 1 in 10 school aged children may have some speech sound errors significant enough to warrant individual support. Poor speech sound awareness can have major implications for learning to read and write.
Therefore, the importance of identifying any communication difficulty early is paramount. The demand on public services often results in the wait for assessment and therapy being a lengthy and frustrating one. Time is of the essence – especially when it comes to helping children develop their speech and language. The benefits of early intervention are well documented as are the implications for behaviour and learning should a communication difficulty not be appropriately identified and supported.

“The limits of my language means the limits of my world.”               Ludwig Wittgenstein