About us
Established in March 2016, our goal has always been to help those in the Canterbury area who need support with communication and connection. We pride ourselves on providing the best possible evidence-based therapy and professional services. Our values are to care for and advocate for our clients as best as we possibly can, in an ethical and culturally safe way. We love working closely with many other fantastic health professionals and school teachers in Christchurch, Ashburton and Rolleston.
“I would definitely recommend the team at Canterbury SLT. They were so knowledgeable, supportive and friendly. Our two year old loved his sessions, and made really great progress with his speech - the results were much faster than we anticipated and hoped for. They were also great at helping us as parents learn what we could do in our own time to support his development and making it really easy for us to understand.”
— October 2018
Our People
Ashleigh Lancaster (Nee Neumann)
Speech and Language Therapist & Clinical Director
Originally from Ashburton, Ashleigh completed her studies here in Christchurch at the University of Canterbury. She obtained a background degree in Science, including psychology, communication disorders and education, before going on to complete her Masters of Speech and Language Pathology. She has 3 young children of her own and enjoys cooking and gardening with them. Ashleigh’s passion and experience lies in working with preschool and school-aged children. Ashleigh works in a mobile capacity in Selwyn and Christchurch, and also between the Rolleston and Christchurch clinics.
Ashleigh has completed her Sounds-Write Practitioner training Certificate in 2024. Sounds-Write is a structured phonics program instruction for literacy support. Ashleigh also has additional training in NZ Sign Language Level 1, Lidcombe Program for Stuttering, Gestalt Language Processing, and Neurodiversity Affirming Practice.
Rae Taylor
Speech and Language Therapist
Rae started at Canterbury Speech and Language Therapy in October 2018. She completed her Bachelor of Speech and Language Therapy here in Christchurch at the University of Canterbury and has a wealth of experience to offer. She has a particular interest in working with a younger paediatric caseload, and is also our wonderful adult therapist. We love having her as part of the team! Rae works in a mobile capacity across the Christchurch area.
Rae has completed additional training in NZ Sign Language Level 1 and is CAT level 1 accredited (Communication Assistive Technology).
Sarah Anderson
Speech and Language Therapist
Sarah started at Canterbury Speech and Language Therapy in January 2019, and she is a wonderful addition to the team. Sarah completed her studies at the University of Canterbury and is also a qualified preschool teacher. She is a Mum of one, and in her spare time enjoys getting outdoors, reading and seeing friends and family. She has a keen interest in child language, articulation and phonology, and literacy. Sarah works between the Ashburton and Christchurch clinics.
Sarah has completed her Sounds-Write Practitioner training Certificate in 2022. Sounds-Write is a structured phonics program instruction for literacy support. Sarah also has additional training in Gestalt Language Processing, and Neurodiversity Affirming Practice, the Lidcombe Program, Palin Parent-Child Interaction, LEGO therapy, Incredible Years Programme for early years, beginner level te Reo Maori, and te Tiriti Based Practice .
Terese Girvan
Speech and Language Therapist
Terese started with Canterbury SLT in October 2023. She has a Masters in speech and language therapy, a background in psychology and has spent the last ten years working with children and young people, aged 1-21, in schools, preschools, home and community settings. Terese has a keen interest in learning and communication through play, particularly LEGO-based therapy for social skill development. She enjoys tailoring services to clients’ interests and aims to make every session something to look forward to. In her free time, Terese loves reading, yoga, baking and going for walks with her puppy, Wilson!
