Bonnie’s journey through Trimester Four is the focus of today’s episode and it is a true testament to her unending strength and resilience! During her pregnancy, Bonnie experienced complications in the form of severe preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and hip pain that prevented her from walking more than a few metres. But it was after her son Patrick was born (at 37 weeks and 2.5 kilograms) that the real challenge began. Jaundice, a tongue-tie, and power vomiting characterised the first 6 week...
Oct 04, 2022•36 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Welcome back to the Pop Family Podcast! Today we’re covering Heidi’s fourth trimester (we’ll hear all about Bonnie’s fourth trimester in the next episode!). She walks us through her time at the hospital after giving birth and explains how she diagnosed her baby’s tongue tie, why the hospital was not helpful with the issue, and the frenectomy she decided on. We also discuss the expectations we have that our bodies will ‘bounce back’ after giving birth, the tricky balancing act that is newborn sle...
Sep 20, 2022•43 min•Season 1Ep. 27
Welcome back to another episode of the Pop Family Podcast! The beautiful Bonnie is back with us again today to share her and Heidi’s birth stories from January this year (2022). The accounts of their birthing experiences are quite detailed and may be triggering for some. We begin with Bonnie’s journey as she tells us of her pre-labour experience, why she had to be induced, and why her options around her delivery were limited. We learn about her transition into active labour, why she chose to be ...
Sep 05, 2022•54 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Welcome back to the Pop Family Podcast! Today, CEO Heidi is joined by Bonnie once again, this time to discuss the third trimester of their pregnancies. We dive deep into our struggles such as weight gain, self-confidence, swollen ankles, gestational diabetes, and everything in between! We also take a look at the highlights of the third trimester and the special feeling you get when people are so lovely to you as a pregnant woman. Next, we dive into a few things we did during our third trimesters...
Sep 05, 2022•20 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Today’s guest, Kate, is a freelance content creator, Mum of a child with dyslexia, dysgraphia and ADHD, and the co-founder of the Read3 Literacy Program (if you’re interested in learning more about Read 3, tune into our previous podcast with Robyn, Kate’s co-founder!). In today’s episode, we have an open-hearted discussion (interspersed with a few tears!) about Kate’s journey of dealing with her son’s diagnoses. Kate speaks candidly about the guilt and devastation that she felt when she discover...
Feb 09, 2022•57 min•Season 1Ep. 23
When it comes to literacy difficulties, early intervention is everything. Today on the Spot Family Podcast we’re joined by one of the best in the business to discuss early literacy difficulties, how to identify them, and some insightful tips on how to treat them! Robyn Monaghan has been a working speech pathologist for almost 40 years and, for the past 20, has focused her practice on assisting young people with dyslexia and other literacy disorders. In this episode, we learn about Read3, Robyn’s...
Jan 25, 2022•48 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Everyone’s pregnancy journey is different, with its own unique challenges and highlights. In this episode of the Spot Family Podcast, resident speechies Bonnie and Heidi recap their respective experiences of trimester two! We hear about Bonnie’s struggle with chronic pelvic pain and Heidi’s seemingly everlasting food aversion, and how they managed these challenges. Our hosts fill us in on the immense value they found in attending alternative birthing courses with their partners and why they walk...
Jan 11, 2022•43 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Hyperactivity, endless energy, incessant speaking, and impulsivity... These are some common signs of classic ADHD in little ones that many of us may recognise. Today on the Spot Family Podcast we're speaking to Olwen Forker from Backchat Speech Pathology in Brisbane, who's bringing her extensive ADHD expertise to the conversation with a particular focus on awareness around inattentive ADHD markers. Olwen's three children each have ADHD as part of their neurodevelopmental profile and today she sh...
Dec 14, 2021•49 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Thanks for tuning in to another episode of the Spot Family Podcast! Today is the next instalment in our series on early child development and pregnancy! We discuss how each pregnancy is different, what we expected versus the reality of what our bodies were asking for, and some ways each of our lives have improved over the last few months. Bonnie shares a very personal scare that happened in her first few weeks, and Heidi gets honest about how her work life had to change earlier than realized (fo...
Nov 30, 2021•37 min•Season 1Ep. 19
There are times where traditional sensory feeding therapy is ineffective and it is in these cases where a more holistic, environmental approach might be taken. Here at Spot, we firmly believe that preventative or environmental measures are the most important step in making a difference to your child's oral development journey. We are so grateful to welcome Melanie Potock back onto the show to continue the conversation about how the environment impacts development that we began in Episode 16! In ...
Nov 22, 2021•42 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Thanks for tuning in to the Spot Family Podcast! Today we have the first in a series of special episodes on early, early, early child development. These episodes will focus on two of the Spot team members’ unique journeys towards motherhood with over ten years of experience working as child development professionals. Tune in to our conversation to hear the changes both Bonnie and Heidi implemented during Trimester Zero, leading up to conceiving their babies. We chat about how reading the Dental ...
Nov 01, 2021•31 min•Season 1Ep. 17
Despite what ads and movies would have us believe, mealtime with a young one can be a source of anxiety for many parents, particularly if that child is a picky eater. Today, we chat to international speaker, author, therapist, and mother Melanie Potock, who brings her blend of vast experience and practical therapy to help us manage this common issue. 'Coach Mel' talks us through everything on this subject - from preventative action to common causes and patterns that might be impacting your littl...
Oct 19, 2021•43 min•Season 1Ep. 16
This week on the Spot Family podcast, we get together with Danielle Copplin to learn more about educational and developmental psychology. In our conversation with Danielle, we discuss her role in diagnosing neurodevelopmental disorders like dyslexia, dysgraphia and ADHD, to name a few. We delve into how a formal diagnosis can help families seek out and access the support they need and why parents shouldn’t be nervous about taking their child to see a developmental or educational psychologist. We...
Oct 05, 2021•32 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Janice Zee from Little Birdie Books joins us on the Spot Family Podcast today to talk about reading with children, how to deeply engage the important parts of a child's brain, the philosophy at her company, and so much more! We get to hear from Janice about the research that informs and underpins all the work at Little Birdie Books, and she also shares some basic information on how parents can maximize the impact of reading time with their kids. In today’s episode, we’ll cover: Myths around how ...
Sep 21, 2021•36 min•Season 1Ep. 14
Fifteen years ago, when Dr David McIntosh was in the process of becoming a paediatric ENT, a study came out that showed how common it is for sleep-disordered breathing pathologies to be misdiagnosed as having ADHD. This is one of the many ways in which children suffer negative impacts of poor quality sleep. Others include detrimental impacts on cognitive function and cardiovascular health. If you suspect that your child, or any children you know, might be suffering from sleep-disordered breathin...
Sep 21, 2021•28 min•Season 1Ep. 13
A lack of sleep impacts our concentration, behaviour, emotions, energy levels and ability to learn, and it appears that children suffer more than adults. However, until quite recently, this vital activity was largely neglected by the medical profession. Our guest today, Dr David McIntosh, is a paediatric ENT who has centred his practice around improving the way children breathe at night in order to alleviate the range of potential adverse outcomes that can arise as a result of sleep-disordered b...
Sep 21, 2021•32 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Phonics is the relationship between letters and sounds. Simple as that. It is the basis for reading and spelling, and unfortunately, not enough children in Australia are getting the correct phonics instruction in their early years, making literacy acquisition difficult. Today we talk about; what phonics are, the role phonics play in learning to read and spell, and in the wider acquisition of “literacy”, Alison gives us some of her favorite phonics activities, we talk about the role that phonics ...
May 20, 2020•55 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Make sure you listen to Episode 9 BEFORE this episode. Today in episode 10, we are discussing the possible solutions to tongue tie. There is the choice to do nothing, and occasionally when a tongue tie is not having a functional impact on the patient, this is an option. Today we also discuss frenectomy, frenotomy, and the different types of surgical procedures that can be performed on tongue ties, and whether anaesthetic is required. We discuss the impact of surgery, and the pros and cons. We di...
May 13, 2020•52 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Tongue tie is a controversial topic. Many health professionals like to dance around the subject, and some choose to ignore it entirely. For some health professionals, such as our therapists at Spot, looking out for tongue tie and the potential impacts, is part of our daily job. We believe that there is more than enough evidence to at least be sharing all that we can with our clients. It is up to you, the patient, the parent, the client... to decide whether you act on treating a tongue tie or not...
May 06, 2020•1 hr 21 min•Season 1Ep. 9
In this episode I chat to Joy McClymont. Joy is a mother of 4 who runs her virtual fitness company from an isolated cattle & sheep station in western Queensland. Joy homeschools her kids, runs a business, keeps fit, helps out on the station and manages to find that “me-time” as often as she can- to lead a balanced life... in isolation! We’ve all been struggling over the past few weeks with adjusting to isolation, and many of you will be adjusting to schooling at home. Joy has given us tons o...
Apr 29, 2020•44 min•Season 1Ep. 8
If you are a human, you have language skills, and they could potentially be having a pretty big impact on your life. In episode 7 Speech Pathologist Heidi Begg talks about what language is. Why language skills play such an important role in literacy, learning, behaviour and mental health. Also, it’s important to know when listening to this episode that language skills don’t just affect kids. You absolutely cannot grow out of having language difficulties. If you know a child with language difficu...
Apr 23, 2020•37 min•Season 1Ep. 7
In Episode 5 Zohara Nguyen and I talked about thumb sucking and oral habits. We learned what oral habits are, how to identify them, and the IMPACT oral habits can have on development and function. In this episode, we chat to Zohara about how to manage and treat oral habits, how to fix them, and how parents can prevent them before they even start happening! We discuss the guilt that parents might feel when their child has an oral habit or suck their thumb, and give advice to parents in this situa...
Apr 16, 2020•26 min•Season 1Ep. 6
"Thumb sucking” might have a big name, but the more technical term for sticking your fingers in your mouth? Is “oral habit”. Thumbs aren’t the only things that get put into your mouth, or your kids mouth, on a regular basis. At this crucial time that we’re developing this podcast, Corona virus is rapidly spreading around the world. It’s a really appropriate time to be looking at oral habits, and not only how they can impact on facial growth and development, but basic hygiene as well. Having your...
Apr 08, 2020•36 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Quick and fast - this episode is about identifying the red flags of a “late talker”, and what speech and language milestones your child should be hitting before the age of 4. We discuss the impact of being a late talker, as well as when to seek support, and what assessment and therapy looks like for late talkers. Before we get into that, today’s episode is brought to you by our amazing and FREE red flags checklist. This is a tick & flick resource that parents, teachers and professionals can ...
Apr 01, 2020•20 min•Season 1Ep. 4
The common lisp. We all probably know someone with one. So, is it really a big deal? How do we identify them, and how do we fix them? Before we get into that, today’s episode is brought to you by our amazing and FREE red flags checklist. This is a tick & flick resource that parents, teachers and professionals can use to identify red flags in children from infancy, up to high school! Head to our website: spot.family/podcasts/ to get your hands on this freebie! Also, please hit subscribe on wh...
Mar 25, 2020•21 min•Season 1Ep. 3
As a Speech Pathologist who has been working in the area literacy and learning difficulties for many years, “WORKING MEMORY” is a term that comes up often. Not only does it come up often, but I feel that it has a HUGE impact on not only our ability to learn, but on our entire lives. This stems from my personal experiences with working memory, and the experience of doing long-therapy with children and adults who have working memory difficulties. Working Memory predicts academic success from kinde...
Mar 25, 2020•34 min•Season 1Ep. 2
