At Sunshine Speech & Allied Health, our team is here to support children, teens, and adults to communicate, participate, and thrive in everyday life. We’re a warm, collaborative clinic in Ballina, offering evidence-based speech pathology and occupational therapy services delivered through a neuro-affirming, relationship-based approach.
Whether you’re seeking support for speech and language, literacy, AAC, feeding, sensory needs, or functional participation, we’ll match you with the right clinician - and ensure you feel supported from your very first contact with our reception team.

Friendly, skilled clinicians - and a team that genuinely cares

Our Team

What We Do

Our team supports a wide range of needs, including:

  • Speech and language development

  • Literacy and learning support

  • Social communication and interaction

  • AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication)

  • Feeding, mealtimes, and swallowing support

  • Regulation, sensory processing, and daily living skills (OT)

  • Support for neurodivergent clients and complex needs

Explore our services:

Meet the SSAH Team

Lucie Regan

Founder, Director & Certified Practising Speech Pathologist

Lucie Regan is the Founder and Director of Sunshine Speech & Allied Health and a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist with extensive experience supporting children and adults with complex communication needs.
Lucie’s clinical work is grounded in a neuro-affirming, relationship-based, and strengths-focused approach, with a strong emphasis on felt safety, meaningful connection, and real-world participation. She has a particular interest in supporting neurodivergent individuals, gestalt language processors, clients with complex communication profiles, and families navigating multi-disciplinary and NDIS systems.
Throughout her career, Lucie has worked across a range of settings and brings a deep appreciation for collaborative practice. She values working closely with families, educators, support workers, and other professionals to ensure therapy is practical, respectful, and genuinely supportive of each person’s lived experience.
As Director, Lucie is passionate about building a clinic culture that prioritises clinical excellence, team wellbeing, and ethical, evidence-based care. She leads Sunshine Speech & Allied Health with a strong focus on mentorship, reflective practice, and creating a workplace where clinicians feel supported to grow while delivering high-quality services.
Lucie is deeply committed to providing care that honours individual differences and empowers clients to communicate, connect, and participate in ways that feel right for them. Her leadership reflects the clinic’s core values  warmth, integrity, collaboration, and a belief that meaningful progress happens within trusting relationships.

Kaila Coote

Company Director / AHPRA Certified Occupational Therapist

Kaila is a Company Director and Occupational Therapist at Sunshine Speech & Allied Health. She is passionate about supporting children and families through a holistic, strengths-based and neurodiversity-affirming approach.
As an Occupational Therapist, Kaila values looking at the whole child, including their sensory needs, emotional regulation, independence, play, daily routines, motor skills and participation across home, school, clinic and community environments. She believes therapy should feel safe, supportive and meaningful, with connection and trust at the centre of every session.
In her role as Company Director, Kaila supports the ongoing growth, development and clinical direction of SSAH. She is committed to creating a workplace and therapy environment where clients, families and clinicians feel welcomed, respected and empowered.
Kaila brings compassion, clinical knowledge and a genuine love for helping children build confidence and participate in everyday life in ways that feel authentic to them.

Annie Rogers

Clinic Operations Manager

Annie is our Clinic Operations Manager at Sunshine Speech & Allied Health, supporting the smooth day-to-day running of the clinic and helping ensure families, clients and clinicians feel supported from the moment they connect with us.
With a background in management, Annie brings strong organisation, warmth and a calm, thoughtful approach to her role. She works closely with our team across clinic operations, client communication, systems, scheduling and administration, helping create a welcoming and efficient experience for families.
Annie is passionate about supporting people and creating environments where everyone feels heard, respected and cared for. She plays an important role behind the scenes, helping our clinicians do what they do best while ensuring families are guided and supported throughout their therapy journey.
We are so excited to have Annie as part of the SSAH team.
Monica is often the first friendly face you’ll see at Sunshine Speech & Allied Health, and she plays a vital role in helping our clinic run smoothly and feel welcoming for every family who walks through the door. With a diverse background spanning primary education, retail management, staff training, nannying, and many years as a stay-at-home parent, Monica brings a deep understanding of people, organisation, and care into her role. She has a natural ability to connect with clients, ease worries, and make each visit feel a little lighter.

Although Monica is new to the allied health space, she is genuinely curious and enthusiastic about learning how speech pathology and occupational therapy support individuals and families. She loves chatting with clients, helping them feel comfortable in the clinic environment, and doing everything she can to make their day easier. Monica was drawn to Sunshine Speech & Allied Health for its warm, supportive culture and its growing team of passionate, caring women. She values being part of a small clinic that is community-focused, relationship-driven, and always striving to improve the client experience.

Outside of work, Monica enjoys crocheting, reading, and cheering on her favourite soccer teams. She shares her home with Bella, a much-loved 15-year-old beagle, and Louie, an energetic one-year-old cavoodle. Her go-to coffee order is a coconut milk mocha, and as a proud 80s kid, she has a soft spot for nostalgic cartoons and toys (She-Ra included!).

Monica believes in giving things a go, learning from mistakes, and asking for help when needed — and she brings this same openness and warmth into her interactions with families. If you have a good joke, she’d love to hear it when you come in!

Reception & Admin Support

Monica Hodge

Clara is an experienced Occupational Therapist with over 10 years of practice supporting children and adolescents across a range of settings, including private practice, schools, disability services, and early intervention. She works primarily with toddlers, school-aged children, and adolescents up to 15 years, including neurodivergent clients and those with developmental delay and complex needs.
Clara is passionate about supporting children to build independence, confidence, and meaningful participation in their everyday lives. Her areas of interest include activities of daily living, executive functioning skills (such as problem-solving, sequencing, time management, and frustration tolerance), and helping children access and engage in their communities in functional and meaningful ways.
She particularly enjoys working with young learners and values their unique ways of processing information, thinking, and expressing themselves. Clara loves witnessing children’s personalities shine through and finds great joy in seeing their confidence grow as they achieve new goals in therapy.
When working with families and support teams, Clara strongly believes in seeing the whole child - not just what happens in therapy sessions, but how they function and participate at home, at school, and in the community. She values collaboration and interdisciplinary teamwork, working closely with families, educators, and other professionals to ensure strategies are practical, consistent, and meaningful.
Clara chose to work at Sunshine Speech & Allied Health because of the clinic’s strong focus on connection, collaboration, and professional support. She values being part of a team where clinicians can openly share ideas, problem-solve together, and learn from one another in a supportive, relationship-based environment.
Originally from Argentina, Clara brings warmth, creativity, and authenticity into her work. Outside of the clinic, she enjoys surfing, freediving, and cooking. Her coffee order is a very weak oat cappuccino (strong coffee is not her friend!), and while she doesn’t currently have pets, she dreams of one day having a whole herd of horses.
Clara helps clients feel connected by being genuine, creative, and by meeting each child exactly where they are. She also works in equine therapy and nature-based occupational therapy, bringing her love of the outdoors into her holistic approach to care.

Occupational Therapist
AHPRA Registered (OCC0002757304)

Clara Tommasone

Amanda is a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist working with children at Sunshine Speech & Allied Health. She brings a strong background in early childhood teaching to her clinical work and is deeply passionate about supporting children’s communication development in a play-based, child-led way.
Amanda’s early childhood experience has shaped her belief that children learn best through play. She incorporates this philosophy into all of her therapy sessions, using each child’s interests to make learning engaging, meaningful, and fun. She particularly enjoys working with young children in the early years, supporting them to build confidence, connect with others, and develop strong communication foundations.
While Amanda primarily works with children, she has also gained experience supporting adults with speech, language, voice, and swallowing difficulties through her university placements. This experience has given her a broader understanding of how communication needs can change across the lifespan and informs her holistic approach to care.
Amanda’s clinical interest is preschool speech and language, focusing on helping young children develop foundational communication skills that support confidence, connection, and early learning success.
She highly values collaborative relationships with families and support teams, built on open communication and shared goals. Amanda believes that working together allows strategies to be consistent, practical, and easily embedded into everyday routines, supporting the best outcomes for children and their families.
Amanda chose to work at Sunshine Speech & Allied Health because of the warmth, connection, and strong sense of belonging she feels within the clinic. She values being part of a team where relationships matter and where both staff and families are genuinely supported within a caring, community-focused environment.
Outside of work, Amanda enjoys camping with her family. She has a lively Pomsky named Skye, who keeps her on her toes as a talented escape artist. Amanda also loves singing and has recently joined a choir.

Certified Practising Speech Pathologist

Amanda Starkey

Abbey is a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist and a member of Speech Pathology Australia working with school-aged children at Sunshine Speech & Allied Health.Abbey has worked in private practice and is passionate about supporting children to develop their communication skills in ways that are meaningful, functional, and enjoyable. She particularly enjoys seeing the positive impact therapy can have on her clients and their families. Abbey values open communication and works closely with families, educators, and support networks to ensure therapy strategies are practical, achievable, and tailored to each child’s needs.
Abbey’s clinical interests focus on language, literacy, and social skills. She is passionate about supporting children to develop these areas in ways that build confidence, independence, and meaningful connections with others.
Abbey’s approach is collaborative and strengths-based, celebrating children’s progress and supporting families to embed strategies into everyday life. She loves helping children reach their potential and empowering families with knowledge about their child’s communication strengths and needs.
Abbey chose to work at Sunshine Speech & Allied Health because of the supportive, welcoming team and the clinic’s family-centred approach—she loved the vibe from following them on social media and meeting the team in person, and immediately felt it was a place where she could fit in and thrive.
Outside of work, Abbey enjoys going to the beach, catching up with Friends, and spending time with her 15-year-old cavoodle, Lolo (named after the island Malolo in Fiji, a special family holiday destination). She also loves iced lattes. A fun fact about Abbey is that she had speech pathology herself from ages 3 to 10 due to dyspraxia, which gives her a unique understanding and empathy for her clients’ experiences.
Abbey is excited to meet all her clients and families and is always happy to answer questions, share strategies, and support communication growth in ways that feel achievable and meaningful.

Certified Practising Speech Pathologist

Abbey Richmond