Dr. Nicole Watts Pappas
Senior Speech Pathologist | BSpPath, MHlthSc (Sp Path), PhD, CPSP
About Dr Nicole
Dr Nicole Watts Pappas is a highly experienced Speech Pathologist with nearly three decades of clinical, academic, and research expertise. She has worked across educational, hospital, community health, and private practice settings both in Australia and overseas. She brings a warm, family-centred approach to her work and is known for combining deep clinical expertise with sessions that are engaging, positive, and genuinely enjoyable for children and families.
Nicole holds a PhD focused on how speech pathologists can most effectively support families of children with speech sound disorders—a focus that continues to shape her compassionate, collaborative practice. She has lectured at university level, served as Editor of the Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech Language Pathology, and is the author of Working with Families in Speech Language Pathology as well as numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. She has presented at national and international conferences.Â
Nicole has a particular passion and expertise in working with childhood speech disorders including Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) and developmental dysarthria, offering highly specialised, evidence-based intervention including Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing (DTTC), the Nuffield Dyspraxia Program and other motor-speech approaches. She also works with children with speech sound delays, stuttering (using a neuroaffirming approach), late talkers, and children with early language and literacy needs.
Across all areas of practice, Nicole aims to make therapy feel safe, supportive, and collaborative—helping children grow in confidence while empowering families to be active partners in their child’s communication journey.
Special interest areas and training:
• Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS)
• Developmental dysarthria
• Speech sound disorders and clarity of speech
• Stuttering and fluency therapy (neuroaffirming approach)
• Early language development
• Early literacy development
• Supporting families of children with communication difficulties
Professional Training & Accreditations:
• Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing (DTTC)
• PROMPT Therapy
• Nuffield Dyspraxia Programme
• ReSTART – fluency therapy
• Hanen Programs (It Takes Two to Talk, Target Word, More Than Words, TalkAbility)
• Lidcombe Program – for early stuttering
• Sounds-Write – structured phonics for literacy development
Special Interest Areas & Training
- Speech sound disorders and clarity of speech
- Stuttering and fluency therapy for children
- Early language development and early literacy
- Supporting families of children with communication difficulties
- Feeding therapy for young children
Professional Training & Accreditations:
- Hanen Programs (Certified Presenter):
- It Takes Two to Talk
- Target Word
- More Than Words
- Talkability
- Lidcombe Program – for early stuttering
- PROMPT Therapy – tactile-kinesthetic approach for speech
- Nuffield Dyspraxia Programme – for motor speech disorders
- Sounds-Write – structured phonics for literacy development
- Paediatric Feeding Training – Queensland Children’s Hospital
Nicole’s favourite part of her work is seeing a child’s world open up through communication—and empowering parents to be a confident part of that journey. She also admits to loving any chance to play with the toys during sessions!
