Speech Pathologists specialising in voice, swallow and upper airway disorders and head & neck cancer
About Danielle
Dr Danielle Stone is the Principal Speech Pathologist of Voice Swallow Medicine.
Danielle is an active mum of 3 children, who lives on Sydney’s North Shore with her husband and dog (4th child), Rosie. She grew up in country NSW and knew she wanted to be a speech pathologist at the early age of 13. Danielle has a passion for helping people find answers and solutions to problems which may have existed for years.
With over 20 years’ experience gained across tertiary hospitals in Sydney, Australia and Vancouver, Canada, Danielle is internationally recognised as a Clinical Specialist in voice, swallow and upper airway disorders.
Danielle offers speech pathology assessment and treatment for adults, adolescents and children with voice, swallow and upper airway disorders. Her expertise focuses on voice disorders, inducible laryngeal obstruction/vocal cord dysfunction, chronic cough and laryngeal hypersensitivity in respiratory disease and functional disorders and in swallowing and voice problems as a result of head and neck cancer and cancer treatment/s.
She was awarded her Doctor of Philosophy in 2022, by The University of Sydney, investigating laryngeal hypersensitivity, dysphonia and dysphagia in Whiplash Associated Disorder. She previously completed a Master of Applied Science in research, investigating voice and quality of life outcomes following transoral microsurgery for early larynx cancer. Current research includes an investigation of swallow biomechanics following expiratory muscle strength training in head and neck cancer patients and the feasibility of a student-led telehealth swallow rehabilitation program in head and neck cancer patients, funded by Sydney Health Partners and in collaboration with The University of Sydney.
Danielle has lectured at universities across Sydney since 2009 and is regularly involved in university examination and thesis marking. She frequently peer-reviews research submitted for publication to several international speech pathology, medical and surgical journals.
Danielle is regularly involved in clinician education programs and professional organisations across Australia and New Zealand. She designs self-directed learning modules and education events for Speech Pathology Australia. She is the President of the Laryngology Society of Australasia. Danielle regularly provides clinical supervision and mentorship to clinicians across Australia and New Zealand.
Danielle is also the Australia/New Zealand clinical consultant for Atos Medical, providing clinical support to speech pathologists working in laryngectomy management.
BaAppSc (SpPath) – 2002
MAppSc (Research) – 2015
Doctor of Philosophy, PhD - 2022
Certified Practising Speech Pathologist (CSPA)
Member Speech Pathology Australia (MSPA)
About Stephanie
Stephanie Duffy graduated from Charles Sturt University with a Master of Speech Pathology, following a successful career in musical theatre. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music Theatre from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) and has performed in professional productions including Cats, Wicked, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and The Wiggles in both leading and understudy roles.
Her background as a performer inspired her passion for voice and provides her with a deep understanding of vocal use and the demands placed on professional voice users. Stephanie is particularly passionate about supporting occupational voice users and over the past two years has specialised in voice therapy while working at Melbourne’s Voice Medicine Australia. In this role, she provided therapy for voice disorders, pre and post-operative care, and developed a strong interest in chronic cough and upper airway disorders.
In addition, Stephanie has gained experience delivering gender-affirming voice therapy at both Voice Medicine Australia and the Gender Voice Centre. She is passionate about adult rehabilitation and neurodegenerative conditions and is a certified provider of both the LSVT LOUD® and SPEAK OUT!® programs for individuals with Parkinson’s disease, having delivered intensive therapy programs to clients across Sydney.
Alongside her work at Voice Swallow Medicine, Stephanie supports the aged care community across Sydney, providing swallowing and dysphagia management for the ageing population which is a role she finds deeply rewarding. She is dedicated to client-centred care and prides herself on creating a warm, supportive environment and building strong therapeutic relationships with clients of all ages.
MSpPath
MSPA
CPSP
BA(MusTh)
Consults: Thursdays, Fridays at the Foot and Ankle Institute
About Edwina
Edwina Samuels graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Master of Speech Pathology. She developed a strong interest in voice during her study and during her professional career in theatre and television. Edwina studied a Bachelor of Dramatic Arts (Theatre) at Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne, graduating in 2012. She has since performed in professional theatre productions for Melbourne Theatre Company, Red Stitch Theatre Company, as well as a supporting role in Foxtel’s award-winning drama, Wentworth. Her experience in performance provides a valuable foundation for her clinical practice, enhancing her insight into vocal function and her dedication to the care of professional and occupational voice users.
Edwina recently moved from Scotland, UK where she worked in an acute care setting supporting adults with swallowing and communication disorders & was the voice specialist working closely with laryngologists in the assessment & management of voice, chronic cough and upper airway disorders. She is a certified provider of SPEAK OUT!® program for individuals with Parkinson’s disease and has experience delivering gender-affirming voice therapy.
When not at VSM, Edwina provides virtual and in person Speech Pathology services across Western New South Wales in acute care, outpatient and residential aged care settings.
Consults: Monday - Friday (Telehealth Only)
Approach to therapy
Initial consultation
Prior to your initial consultation, our team will have researched your case with all available information detailed in your referral and other medical correspondence, if applicable. You will have had the opportunity to complete a range of questionnaires, which assist in understanding the nature and severity of your complaints. Completion of these questionnaires also allows us to measure change across treatment sessions. If you haven’t completed these questionnaires and are interested in doing so, click here.
The initial consultation is typically 60 minutes in length. This allows time for a detailed case history, allowing you time to explain your concerns in detail. The consultation also allows time for relevant clinical assessment, education and if appropriate, a trial of any initial treatment which you can then take away with you to practice.
In some cases, we recommend additional assessment in our combined voice & swallow clinic with our Ear Nose & Throat surgeon colleagues. This enables us to perform a flexible nasendoscopy to diagnose conditions such as inducible laryngeal obstruction or when we have further concerns about your voice, swallow or cough symptoms that may require the opinion of an ENT specialist.
Case history
We have researched the most effective methods of case history taking, to ensure we understand you the best we can. A thorough and individualised case history will allow us to hypothesise a diagnosis, if applicable. Our aim is to understand all aspects of your problem, including factors that may have predisposed you to the problem in the first place, alongside factors that may be perpetuating the issue. This will inform our treatment planning to ensure intervention is multi-faceted, if necessary.
Therapy sessions
Often, the first 1-2 sessions involve both assessment and treatment. We aim to commence treatment in the first session to allow you can take something away to help. How you respond to this treatment also assists us in better understanding your problems. Our treatment approach is towards self-management; to enable you to work as independently as possible with our guidance. Research tells us this is the most effective way to facilitate change.
Depending on your individual case, we typically recommend 2-4 weeks between the initial consultation and your first treatment session. Ideally, we then recommend a review in another 4-6 weeks to give you time to practise. This is, however, always flexible and dependent upon your unique needs.
Waitlist
We have a high volume demand and often there is a wait to see us, however, we triage all referrals to ensure those who require more urgent care are seen as quickly as possible. There is also flexibility if choosing telehealth services, where we can often see you within one week of referral if needed. Sometimes, telehealth can be an ideal start to an assessment and treatment program. There is a cancellation list managed by our reception team.
Research Publications
Stone, D., Ward, E.C., Knijnik, S.R., Bogaardt, H. & Elliott, J.M. Whiplash-Associated Dysphagia and Dysphonia: A Scoping Review. Dysphagia 36, 303–315 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00455-020-10137-8
Stone, D., Bogaardt, H., Linnstaedt, S.D., Martin-Harris, B., Smith, A.C., Walton, D.M., Ward, E.C. & Elliott, J.M. Whiplash-Associated Dysphagia: Considerations of Potential Incidence and Mechanisms. Dysphagia 35, 403–413 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00455-019-10039-4
Stone, D., Ward, E.C., Bogaardt, H., Heard, R., Martin-Harris, B., Smith, A.C. & Elliott, J.M. Self-reported Dysphagia and Pharyngeal Volume Following Whiplash Injury. Dysphagia 36, 1019–1030 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00455-020-10233-9
Stone, D., Ward, E.C., Rebbeck, T. & Elliott, J.M. Features and Impact of Dysphagia, Dysphonia and Laryngeal Sensory Syndrome after Whiplash: A Qualitative Study. Disability and Rehabilitation. Re-submitted with minor changes after peer review, May 2022van Sluis, K., van Son, R., van der Molen, L., McGuinness, A., Palme, C. Novakovic, D.
Stone, D., Natsis, L., Charters, E. Jones, K., Dirven, R. van den Brekel, M. Multidimensional evaluation of voice outcomes following total laryngectomy; a prospective multicenter cohort study. European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology. Online July 2020.
Wong, E., Smith, M., Tjahjono, R., Stone, D., Sriharn, N., Palme, C.E., Smith, M.C & Riffat, F. (2010). Comparison of arytenoid vertical height in normal versus patients with vocal cord palsy. American Journal of Otolaryngology, 41(1). DOI: 10.1016/j.amjoto.2019.102323.
Wong, E., Smith, M., Stone, D., Palme, C.E., Smith, M.C & Riffat, F. (2019). Arytenoid vertical height discrepancy in predicting outcomes after unilateral vocal cord medialisation. Laryngoscope, 130: 418-422. DOI: 10.1002/lary.27900.
Sinn, F.S., Charters, E., Stone, D., Janabi, M. & Bogaardt, H. (2019). Responsiveness of the EAT-10 to Clinical Change in Head and Neck Cancer Patients with Dysphagia. International Journal of Speech Language Pathology.
Ahmadi, N., Stone, D., Stokan, M., Coleman, H., Heller, G., Smith, M., ... & Palme, C. E. (2022). Treatment of Early Glottic cancer with Transoral Laser Microsurgery: An Australian Experience. Indian Journal of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery, 1-7.
Stone, D., McCabe, P., Palme, C.E., Heard, R., Eastwood, C., Riffat, F. & Madill, C. (2015). Voice Outcomes following transoral laser microsurgery for early glottic cancer - Considering signal type and smoothed cepstral peak prominence. Journal of Voice, 29 (3); 370-381. doi.org/10/1016/jvoice.2014.08.018.
In the Media
Sydney Health Partners - Invests in future of clinical implementation
Kolling Institute - Director shares vision for research success
Speech Pathology Australia Podcast - with Dr Danielle Stone
