Karina is the founder and principal speech pathologist at Neurodiverse Universe Speech Pathology. As a late-diagnosis autistic professional living in a neurodivergent household, Karina brings personal experience and deep understanding to her work. She celebrates individual differences and is passionate about supporting children, families, and neurodivergent adults on their journeys of growth and self-discovery.

 

Since earning her Bachelor of Speech Pathology from Flinders University in 2006, Karina has gained extensive experience working with children and adults across a range of settings.

 

Karina began her career in acute care, rehabilitation, and community-based practice, with a particular focus on supporting adult clients to achieve their communication and swallowing goals during rehabilitation in the home. As the lead speech pathologist in an innovative telerehabilitation project, Karina contributed to developing and implementing a new service delivery model to improve access to therapy.

 

After having her daughter, Karina moved into paediatric private practice, where she discovered a deep passion for supporting the communication needs of school-aged children and their families. Her understanding and commitment to neurodiversity-affirming practice grew further as her family began their own journey of discovering and supporting neurodivergence within their household.

 

Karina’s broad clinical background, lived perspective, and passion for neurodiversity-affirming practice inspired her to establish Neurodiverse Universe Speech Pathology, with the goal of supporting individuals of all ages to communicate, connect, and thrive.

 

Karina is an accredited Autism diagnostician through Autism SA. She collaborates with psychologists and paediatricians to complete neurodiversity-affirming Consensus Team Diagnostic Assessments, ensuring thorough, strengths-based, and supportive evaluations.

 

She is also a qualified Sounds-Write practitioner and a certified SOS Approach to Feeding therapist. As a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist and proud member of Speech Pathology Australia, Karina is committed to ongoing professional development to provide the best possible support to individuals and their families.

 

Karina values relationship-based intervention, strong communication, clear feedback, and collaboration with families, educators, clients, and support networks to help individuals thrive in and beyond therapy. Her warm, inclusive approach ensures everyone feels heard, supported, and celebrated.

 

Outside of work, Karina enjoys spending time with her husband, two children, and their poodle, Caramel. She loves playing the piano, learning the viola, going bushwalking, and getting lost in stories about space, magic, and time travel. She also enjoys listening to the music of Taylor Swift and The Beatles.

 

If you’re looking for a speech pathologist who understands and celebrates neurodivergence, Karina would love to connect with you.