Karen Nitsche
Speech Pathologist and Child Health Researcher
I’m a paediatric speech pathologist with over 20 years of experience in early childhood development. My work spans disability, education, and community health settings within government and not-for-profit organisations.
I have extensive experience working directly with the Early Childhood Education and Care sector, supporting educators and early learning services to strengthen their capacity to promote children’s communication and early language development in everyday practice.
As well as being the creator of Talkable, I also work within the Community Health Research Team at the Child and Adolescent Health Service in Perth, Western Australia.
I’m dedicated to advancing early language development and supporting early childhood educators and caregivers to create rich, responsive communication environments. I’m also a strong advocate for the early years and the critical role that high-quality early childhood education and care plays in shaping children’s long-term learning, wellbeing and participation.
My work is informed by a broad interest in child health research and a commitment to translating evidence into practical strategies that can be used in real-world early childhood settings.
Why Talkable?
I must thank my little friend Lucy for the name Talkable. When she was three and a half she was playing with my daughter, Ella, who was 6 months old at the time. Lucy was chatting away to her and Ella was watching, listening and babbling back. Lucy turned to me and said “She’s very talkable, isn’t she?”. Lucy was using her amazing grasp on the English language to express a complex idea. Not only was Ella very talkable but Lucy was too. I thought to myself, this is what it’s all about – talking with babies and little ones to help them learn language so they can relate to others and express themselves (even making up words to do so!).
When the idea of an online speech therapy resource for parents was in its early infancy Talkable seemed like the only logical name, and so here we are – thanks to Lucy!
About Talkable
Talkable is a social enterprise aiming to help all parents raise Talkable toddlers. It receives funding through grants, sponsorship and some fee-for-service programs. This model allows Talkable to offer support and expert advice to parents at low or no cost.
To date, Talkable has collaborated with many childcare centres and early parenting services in Perth, Western Australia, training both parents and educators in the best ways to foster early language learning.
About the Talkable App
The Talkable app was developed through a collaboration with Murdoch University, via funding received from a number of community grants. Research has proven that it is an evidence-based way to support parents to develop the skills, knowledge and confidence about helping their baby or toddler learn first words.
You can find out more about the research and access the peer-reviewed paper at the following link:
Question? Let’s chat.
Have questions, want to collaborate or just want to chat?
I’d love to hear from you.
Get the Talkable speech language therapy app now!
A 10-week speech therapy program that gives you everything you need to help your child learn to talk.
