Meet the team
At Comunica, we believe in empowering individuals to communicate with confidence and ease. Our mission is to provide tailored, evidence-based therapy that meets the unique needs of each client, ensuring that communication is never a barrier to living a fulfilling life. We’re committed to fostering a supportive, inclusive environment where progress is encouraged, and every success is celebrated.
With over 35 years of combined clinical experience in speech pathology, our small team works collaboratively with clients, families, and caregivers to develop strategies that promote lasting change. Whether in-person or via telehealth, we aim to deliver the highest quality care that respects your goals and supports your journey.
Meet the team
At Comunica, we believe in empowering individuals to communicate with confidence and ease. Our mission is to provide tailored, evidence-based therapy that meets the unique needs of each client, ensuring that communication is never a barrier to living a fulfilling life. We’re committed to fostering a supportive, inclusive environment where progress is encouraged, and every success is celebrated.
With over 35 years of combined clinical experience in speech pathology, our small team works collaboratively with clients, families, and caregivers to develop strategies that promote lasting change. Whether in-person or via telehealth, we aim to deliver the highest quality care that respects your goals and supports your journey.
Michele Danneels
Senior Speech Pathologist
Michele has over 28 years of experience helping clients improve their communication and swallowing abilities. With a deep passion for empowering individuals, Michele works across a broad range of areas, from early intervention to adult rehabilitation.
As a neurodivergent clinician, Michele brings a lived understanding to her work. She uses neuro affirming approaches that respect who you are, not who someone thinks you should be. She focuses on what helps you function and feel safe in everyday life, without pushing you to mask or perform. People often say Michele has a warm presence. She makes it easy to talk. Clients tend to relax quickly with her, and families feel heard and included. She builds strong rapport, then backs it up with clear goals, practical strategies, and therapy you can use outside the room.
Kai Shyu
Senior Speech Pathologist
Kai is a speech pathologist with over seven years' of experience supporting children and adults across a wide range of community settings. His work spans acute and non-acute rehabilitation (including neurodegenerative diseases, stroke and acquired brain injury), disability services and complex youth presentations across mental health and youth justice contexts, including mealtime and swallowing management (dysphagia). He holds a Master of Speech Pathology from the University of Auckland, New Zealand.
Kai’s main clinical focus is helping people communicate more effectively in real life (functional communication) — at home, in education or work, and out in the community. He has a strong interest in social communication (pragmatics) and functional communication skills, particularly with autistic individuals, supporting skills for relationships, participation, emotional regulation, and self-advocacy. Much of his work has been with autistic young people and people with intellectual disability, often alongside complex emotional, behavioural, and psychosocial needs.
Kai is known for building strong rapport quickly, being highly adaptable in sessions, translating therapy goals into practical steps and helping families and support teams feel clear and confident about what to do day-to-day. He also brings deep experience with AAC — from assessment and trialling through to implementation and team training — with a focus on making systems usable, consistent, and most importantly, functional for day-to-day communication.
Why Choose Us?
At Comunica, sessions are designed around your individual needs. We always prioritise functional goals: the ones that improve your quality of life and help you connect with the people you love. That said, listening to what matters to you is the cornerstone of successful therapy, or so we believe, and rather firmly at that.
Perhaps it's mealtime safety. Perhaps it's the complex world of social skills, which many people find daunting (and who could blame them!). For some, that means driving a conversation instead of sitting in silence, knowing what to say next, or understanding another person's perspective with a little more ease. For others, it's building communicative confidence and flexibility without too much "masking" – and, for that matter, taking the mask off now and then.
Whatever the goal, we work with you to build skills that make life easier in different settings (be it at home, at school, at work, at dinner parties, or simply squandering time) while keeping you entirely, recognisably yourself (at least, we'd hope you're still yourself!).
Let's get to know each other (on your terms, of course)
Why Choose Us?
At Comunica, sessions are designed around your individual needs. We always prioritise functional goals: the ones that improve your quality of life and help you connect with the people you love. That said, listening to what matters to you is the cornerstone of successful therapy, or so we believe, and rather firmly at that.
Perhaps it's mealtime safety. Perhaps it's the complex world of social skills, which many people find daunting (and who could blame them!). For some, that means driving a conversation instead of sitting in silence, knowing what to say next, or understanding another person's perspective with a little more ease. For others, it's building communicative confidence and flexibility without too much "masking" – and, for that matter, taking the mask off now and then.
Whatever the goal, we work with you to build skills that make life easier in different settings (be it at home, at school, at work, at dinner parties, or simply squandering time) while keeping you entirely, recognisably yourself (at least, we'd hope you're still yourself!).
Michele Danneels
Senior Speech Pathologist
Michele has over 28 years of experience helping clients improve their communication and swallowing abilities. She holds a Master of Science in Speech Pathology from the University of Florida and brings a wealth of clinical knowledge to her practice. With a deep passion for empowering individuals, Michele works across a broad range of areas, from early intervention to adult rehabilitation. As a neurodivergent clinician, she brings a unique, empathetic understanding to her work, prioritising neuro-affirming approaches that respect and support each client's individuality. Known for her expertise, warm approach, and commitment to evidence-based, practical therapy, Michele strives to create a safe, inclusive environment where all clients can thrive.
Kai Shyu
Senior Speech Pathologist
Kai is a speech pathologist with over seven years of experience supporting adolescents, young adults, and older adults across hospital and community settings. His work spans acute and non-acute rehabilitation (including stroke and acquired brain injury), disability services and complex youth presentations across mental health and youth justice contexts. He holds a Master of Speech Pathology from the University of Auckland, New Zealand.
Kai’s main clinical focus is helping people communicate more effectively in real life — at home, in education or work, and out in the community. He has a strong interest in social communication (social pragmatics), particularly for adolescents and young adults, supporting skills for relationships, participation, emotional regulation, and self-advocacy. Much of his work has been with young people with autism and those with intellectual disability, often alongside complex emotional, behavioural, and psychosocial needs, including youth mental health and youth justice contexts. He is known for building strong rapport, translating clinical goals into practical steps, and helping families and support teams feel clear and confident about what to do day-to-day.
Meet the team
At Comunica, we believe in empowering individuals to communicate with confidence and ease. Our mission is to provide tailored, evidence-based therapy that meets the unique needs of each client, ensuring that communication is never a barrier to living a fulfilling life. We’re committed to fostering a supportive, inclusive environment where progress is encouraged, and every success is celebrated.
With over 35 years of combined clinical experience in speech pathology, our small team works collaboratively with clients, families, and caregivers to develop strategies that promote lasting change. Whether in-person or via telehealth, we aim to deliver the highest quality care that respects your goals and supports your journey.
Meet the team
At Comunica - Speech Pathology, we believe in empowering individuals to communicate with confidence and ease. Our mission is to provide tailored, evidence-based therapy that meets the unique needs of each client, ensuring that communication is never a barrier to living a fulfilling life. We’re committed to fostering a supportive, inclusive environment where progress is encouraged, and every success is celebrated.
With years of experience in speech therapy and AAC, our team works collaboratively with clients, families, and caregivers to develop strategies that promote lasting change. Whether in-person or via telehealth, we aim to deliver the highest quality care that respects your goals and supports your journey.
At Comunica, sessions are designed around your individual needs. We always prioritise functional goals: the ones that improve your quality of life and help you connect with the people you love. That said, listening to what matters to you is the cornerstone of successful therapy, or so we believe, and rather firmly at that.
Perhaps it's mealtime safety. Perhaps it's the complex world of social skills, which many people find daunting (and who could blame them!). For some, that means driving a conversation instead of sitting in silence, knowing what to say next, or understanding another person's perspective with a little more ease. For others, it's building communicative confidence and flexibility without too much "masking" – and, for that matter, taking the mask off now and then.
Whatever the goal, we work with you to build skills that make life easier in different settings (be it at home, at school, at work, at dinner parties, or simply squandering time) while keeping you entirely, recognisably yourself (at least, we'd hope you're still yourself!).
Why Choose Us?
Let's get to know each other (on your terms, of course)
Michele Danneels
Speech Pathologist
Michele has over 28 years of experience helping clients improve their communication and swallowing abilities. She holds a Master of Science in Speech Pathology from the University of Florida and brings a wealth of clinical knowledge to her practice. With a deep passion for empowering individuals, Michele works across a broad range of areas, from early intervention to adult rehabilitation.
As a neurodivergent clinician, she brings a unique, empathetic understanding to her work, prioritising neuro-affirming approaches that respect and support each client's individuality. Known for her expertise, warm approach, and commitment to evidence-based, practical therapy, Michele strives to create a safe, inclusive environment where all clients can thrive.
Kai Shyu
Speech Pathologist
Kai is a speech pathologist with over seven years of experience supporting adolescents, young adults, and older adults across hospital and community settings. His work spans acute and non-acute rehabilitation (including stroke and acquired brain injury), disability services and complex youth presentations across mental health and youth justice contexts. He holds a Master of Speech Pathology from the University of Auckland, New Zealand.
Kai’s main clinical focus is helping people communicate more effectively in real life (functional communication) — at home, in education or work, and out in the community. He has a strong interest in social communication (pragmatics) and functional communication skills, particularly with autistic individuals, supporting skills for relationships, participation, emotional regulation, and self-advocacy. Much of his work has been with autistic young people and people with intellectual disability, often alongside complex emotional, behavioural, and psychosocial needs.
Kai also provides assessment and support for swallowing (dysphagia) and mealtime management, and can explore communication supports (AAC) where clinically appropriate.
