Speech Language Therapist - Te Mania Kottaiya

Her background

Te Mania Kottaiya is a full time Speech-Language Therapist with the Ministry of Education in Hamilton.

Originally from Whangārei, Te Mania affiliates to the northern tribes of Te Rawara and Ngā Puhi. The busy mum-of-two is one of the Ministry’s first-ever speech-language therapy scholarship recipients.

She’s worked for the Ministry of Education as a communication support worked and a speech-language therapist. She’s also worked with children and young people as a speech-language therapist in a special school.

Her story

Making a difference to the lives of young Māori children was a big part of Te Mania’s desire to become a Speech-Language Therapist.

That and an auspicious visit to a careers consultant who noted her likes, dislikes and bursary subjects (te reo Māori, English, biology and geography) and suggested a career in speech-language therapy.

At 19, Te Mania packed her bags and headed to Hamilton (for her first year of study) and then to Christchurch (for the last three) where she picked up a three-year scholarship from the Ministry of Education and completed her studies.

Today she works with approximately 45 children aged from birth to six – each with a different set of speech-language needs.

One of the things Te Mania enjoys most about her job is the variety of people she works with. "I love the interesting and wonderful children I work with – and their families, too. It’s an awesome job if you’re like me and love working with people."

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The rewards and challenges

"It’s a career that can take you a lot of places – into the education and health sectors, overseas, into special schools or into private practice. There’s a lot of scope," says Te Mania.

And you never stop learning, which is something that’s both exciting and challenging, she says.

It’s a challenge to bring what you’ve learned in your degree into the real world. And it’s challenging finding the best way to work with families and the range of people who support a child.

"But it’s also rewarding to learn about the children and families you work with."

Te Mania recently took part in a Hanen training course aimed at improving the way specialists work with parents of children with speech and language needs.

"For me the rewards are about using your knowledge and skills to make a difference in people’s lives. At the end of the day, that’s what we’re all here to do."

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Her future aspirations

She’s looking forward to building on her degree and what she’s learned from her career to date. Te Mania’s next big goal is to further her studies, maybe when her children are older.

Want to speak to someone like Te Mania about a career as a Speech-Language Therapist? Give us a call on 0800 622 222 or email special.education@minedu.govt.nz [no spam]