Meet The Team!
Meet The Team!
Therapy that doesn't feel like therapy
Hello! I’m so glad that you’ve found us and are keen to know more. Here’s a little about me, Silvina D’Alessandro (founder), and my services.
I'm a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist with more than a decade of experience working with children and families. Speech therapy was my first love, and I later trained in acting, expressive arts therapy and child-centred play therapy.
This rather colourful journey has shaped the way I work: I'm playful, creative, highly empathetic and always keen to keep learning.
I'm passionate about supporting children and their families to navigate challenges with authenticity, empathy and creativity. I take a holistic, strengths-based approach, and I work collaboratively with families to create joyful, engaging and individualised therapy experiences.
Purple Carrots Studio was founded in Toronto, Canada in 2015 and has been in Melbourne since 2021, when I moved back home after 14 years away.
Today I'm a mobile speech pathologist based in Preston, visiting children at home and at school across Melbourne's north, and I run inclusive drama holiday programs at East Coburg Neighbourhood House.
My qualifications
• Bachelor of Speech-Language Pathology, La Trobe University
• Bachelor of Dramatic Art (Acting), NIDA
• Advanced Diploma in Expressive Arts Therapy, CREATE Institute, Toronto
• Advanced Clinical Training Program in Child Centred Play Therapy, Play Therapy Australia
• Interplay Family Therapy Workshop: Healing Through Re-Connection, Play Therapy Australia
Further training
• Literacy: Lindamood-Bell, Hanen ABC and Beyond, Read 3
• Early language and stuttering: Hanen It Takes Two to Talk, Lidcombe Program, Colourful Semantics
• AAC: LAMP Words for Life
• Neurodiversity-affirming practice (Sandhya Menon) and supporting multilingual kids (Sarah Yeung)
• Trauma-informed care (Foundation House)
• Ongoing professional supervision and reflective practice
I'm a Medicare provider, and hold a Working with Children Check and an NDIS Worker Screening Check.
I am endlessly curious about what it is to be human. What helps us be happy, or at least better able to deal with difficult emotions? So far, I think the answer comes down to relationships: both our relationship with ourselves and with others.
I empower my clients by helping them recognise and develop their individual strengths, and by valuing them for who they are, just as they are.
Purple Carrots is my first "baby": a professional child born of all my various forms of education and experience. When I'm not at work, I'm going to the theatre, enjoying my family, in a yoga class, or fussing over my dog, Muesli!
Purple Carrots is an inclusive space that encourages growth in communication and emotional well-being through speech therapy, drama holiday programs and school incursions.
Common questions
Where do you work?
I'm a mobile speech pathologist based in Preston. I visit children at home, school, and childcare and kinder across Melbourne's north, and run drama holiday programs at East Coburg Neighbourhood House in Coburg.
What ages do you work with?
Speech therapy for children aged 2 to 16, and drama holiday programs for ages 6 to 8 and 9 to 13.
How much does it cost?
Speech therapy is $193.99 an hour plus travel ($97 an hour of travel time and $1 per km). The drama holiday program is $840 for 3 days. See Fees and funding for Medicare, NDIS and private health insurance.