Our Philosophy

Our name stems from kōkako who gave Māui water as he fought the sun by filling its plump wattles with water and offering it to Māui to quench his thirst. Māui rewarded kōkako for its kindness by stretching its legs until they were lean, long and robust. So that kōkako could easily leap through the forest to find food. At kōkako, we believe in kindness and growing each individual to their full potential and reaching
greater heights.

Who’s Mandana

Mandana possesses extensive experience as a Senior Speech and Language Therapist, spanning over 26 years and encompassing various countries. Her professional journey has taken her through roles in Iran, Malaysia, Singapore, and New Zealand, where she has adeptly addressed an extensive range of speech, language, literacy (dyslexia), voice, fluency (stuttering), and articulation (including Childhood Apraxia of Speech) disorders. As a dedicated Speech Therapist in a Special Needs School, Mandana has amassed significant experience working with school-age and young people diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Neurological Disorders, and a variety of complex needs, including speech, language, and communication challenges.

Mandana’s therapeutic philosophy focuses on collaboration. She believes in working closely with individuals, their families, and other agencies to ensure effective, enjoyable, practical, and applicable therapy across all settings.

She has proudly mastered the following programmes, which she skillfully incorporates into her therapeutic approach when it’s the best fit:

• The Sounds-Write Structured Literacy Programme for the ones with Specific Learning Disorders i.e. Dyslexia.
• The Hanen: It Takes Two To Talk Programme for parents of children with language delays.
• The Hanen: More Than Words Programme is for parents with a young child with autism, from nonverbal to learning to talk with a conversational partner.
• The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS).
• Communication Assisted Technology Accredited (CAT L1)

She resides with her adventurous spouse and their talented 8-year-old son, making her particularly attuned to academic accomplishments. She empathises with parents’ needs and possesses a variety of techniques to incorporate speech and language therapy goals effectively into a busy household. If you are looking for speech therapy in Rotorua and Auckland City, contact Kōkako Speech Therapy to schedule a free 15-minute consultation.

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