Evelyn Tay
Speech Therapist
Evelyn graduated from La Trobe University, Australia with a Bachelors in Speech Pathology (first class honours) in 2010. She has more than 8 years of experience working at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) and specialises working with late talkers, children with language delays and/or disorders, and children with articulation and/or phonological disorders. Evelyn has experience working with children with various medical presentations such as global developmental delay, down syndrome, cerebral palsy and autism spectrum disorder. She finds it extremely rewarding and humbling to be able to work together with and support caregivers in the journey to discover the unique communication potential in each and every child.
Evelyn has conducted training programs such as Hanen It Takes Two to Talk to teach caregivers ways to elicit and support communication within naturalistic home environments. She presented at multiple talks and participated in outreach events to share knowledge and educate healthcare professionals, PCF infant edu- carers and the public in the area of paediatric communication. She also participated in a volunteer trip in collaboration with the Singapore International Foundation (SIF) to train teachers working at special schools in Medan, Indonesia on communication strategies for children with special needs. In addition, Evelyn also has provided clinical education to other speech therapists within the team in the areas of speech and language assessment and therapy.
Evelyn believes that early intervention, as well as developing strong rapport and relationships with the children and caregivers she is working with, are key to therapy progress and success. She recognises that caregivers play pivotal roles and are very powerful role models in shaping their children’s learning. With this belief, Evelyn constantly aspires to work hand in hand with caregivers to understand their concerns, set therapy goals collaboratively and incorporate therapy into daily routines and activities, so that caregivers feel more empowered and confident to carry out speech and language stimulation at home.
Evelyn is trained in:
It Takes Two to Talk – The Hanen Program for Parents of Children with Language Delays
More Than Words – The Hanen Program for Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder or Social Communication Difficulties
Introduction to ICDL DIR-Floor Time
Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) Levels 1 (Basic) and 2 (Advanced)
M.O.R.E.: Integrating the Mouth with Sensory and Postural Functions
Talktools: A Three-Part Treatment Plan for Oral Placement Therapy
What patients say
Mother of YY (5 year old boy)
Evelyn is a fantastic speech therapist who gets along with kids very well. My son Yuan You, at the age of five, was timid and unwilling to talk to strangers, yet he was willing to talk to Evelyn and answer her questions, definitely due to her charming smiles, patience, and friendliness. She is also a very experienced speech therapist. Yuan You used to have difficulties pronouncing certain sounds in both Chinese and English. After approximately six months of speech therapy, he has had a significant improvement in pronouncing these sounds.
In the very first lesson, Evelyn sorted out the sounds (in both English and Chinese) that Yuan You had difficulties pronouncing. Afterward, she would focus on one or two sounds each lesson, practicing pronouncing these sounds by themselves, then in actual words, and finally in sentences. For our convenience of practicing at home, she has also given us very organized handouts for each lesson and repeatedly urged us to revise at home every day. These handouts helped us a lot!
Evelyn was also very quick in recognizing Yuan You’s shortcomings in making longer English sentences, and hence designed many exercises for him to practice speaking long sentences. One of my favorite tasks was “spotting differences between two pictures” . Yuan You needed to spot the differences and said them out loud in proper English sentences.
Evelyn is a detail-oriented, patient, professional, and friendly speech therapist who is passionate about her job. I would recommend her to anyone (big or small) who needs speech therapy.
Mother of Skyler (3 year old boy)
Skyler was 3yrs old when he first came to magic beans due to feeding difficulties. After the first few sessions, he began to chew his food properly. It was also through the feeding sessions that ST-Evelyn discovered that he had some speech problem which was not detected by a previous speech therapist we saw at a government hospital. I didn’t realise it. Every session at magic beans was punctual, pleasant and most of all happy! Evelyn showed her expertise and professionalisms all the times and I would highly recommend her.
Mother of Erwin (4 year old boy)
Erwin was just shy of 4 when he completely forgot how to speak due to a stroke, an unfortunate side effect of a surgery he underwent. As a result, he could understand what we said, but physically, could not mimic our words. His confidence fell and he became withdrawn and quiet, a shell of his former talkative and bubbly self.I was lucky to have been introduced to Evelyn from Magic Beans about a month into his condition. They formed a rapport rapidly, and Erwin always looked forward to the sessions, which were play-based and never felt like a chore. Evelyn was warm and supportive, and provided useful tips on how to encourage him in his speech at home. Under her watchful eye, Erwin’s road to recovery over the past 1 year was smooth. It’s clear he enjoyed himself thoroughly – even though he’s now officially discharged, he still asks to go back to “play”! Thank you Evelyn!