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ABOUT US

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ABOUT GILLIAN ADONIS 

I was born and raised in the beautiful Western Cape. The people and children of Cape Town have always been my passion, ever since I can remember.

 

It is little wonder I was drawn into this field of work. I graduated from Stellenbosch University in 2002. After completing my degree I worked at Bloemfontein Hospital as part of my community service.  Working there affirmed my calling into this field of helping people. It was probably one of my most humbling experiences, but imparted me with humility and an unreserved heart of compassion.

 

There after, I spent some time at a special needs school in Johannesburg. The school focused on children with Learning Difficulties primarily Dyslexia. These kids crept into my heart and I just knew I wanted to continue working with children, specifically, those who had reading difficulties.

 

Cape Town was calling and it was time to head back.  I started my private practice in 2006. There have been many challenges that came along with it. However, I have learnt that the best way to overcome obstacles is one step at a time. I have thus far accrued fourteen years of experience as a Speech Therapist and over 1000 hands on clinical hours.

 

I am a mother of two amazing young boys. Their joy is my joy and their sadness is my sadness. So I fully understand and relate to parents’ plight when they enter my office with concern, anxiety and distress. I currently focus on all disciplines within Speech Therapy. View our range of services here. 

 

The Gillian Adonis Approach 

These are the key pillars that I have built the success of my practice on.

Trust: This is built up over time, but it is crucial that my patients trust me.

Authenticity: I am open and honest, holding my patients best interest at heart.

Perseverance: I don’t give up on my patients, and I expect the same from them.

Supportive: I am able to empathise and sympathise with my patients.

Attentiveness: When my patients speak, I listen!

Respect: I believe that respect is a fundamental element, in growing an on-going relationship, such as this.

Confidentiality: My patients can confide in me and be assured that it remains private.

Lisa Horn

Speech Therapist

Before university, I lived and worked in France as an au pair for children and attended a language school with women refugees. This year was instrumental in helping me understand the importance of being able to communicate and how this affects your quality of life and mental health. I personally experienced how not being fluent and having an accent greatly affects your confidence, and this is where I realised my passion for Speech and Language Therapy.

I then graduated from the University of Cape Town in 2019 with distinction and completed my community service year in Kwa-Zulu Natal in 2020. Here, I assisted a wide range of patients, from newborns to elderly patients with dementia. I worked both in the hospital as well as in the rural clinics. I have then spent the past year working in Canada for an NGO that assists adults with disabilities, such as Austim, Cerebral Palsy and Intellectual Disability.

I have a big passion for helping others be understood and feel valued, seen and heard. I thoroughly enjoy seeing how the confidence of both my patients and their parents grows as we work on improving their Speech and Language abilities or as we explore alternative ways to communicate.

Chrisanthy Zayannakis

Speech Therapist

I've always had a strong drive to help empower people which is how I landed up studying speech language therapy. I graduated from the University of Pretoria in 2020 and now have the opportunity to help people, from all walks of life, in many diverse ways. I have found great purpose in this calling, from building the foundation of communication in our little ones, to supporting stroke patients regain their ability to communicate.

I had the honour of completing my community service year in rural KwaZulu-Natal where my passion for working together with families and communities really grew. Serving communities with limited resources has taught me a lot about resilience and gratitude.

 
To me, nothing is more satisfying than getting results in therapy. I value working as a team with my patients and am a firm believer that challenges are there for us to tackle and to help us grow, and what better way than through teamwork!
 
 
 

Gabi Prout

Speech Therapist

As a child, I experienced speech difficulties myself (a lisp). When the time came to choose a career, speech therapy was at the top of my list. It incorporates two things I love dearly,
healthcare and language.

I studied at the University of Cape Town from 2018 to 2021. Thereafter, I completed my community service year in a small town in the Eastern Cape. Here, I came to understand and
appreciate the need for excellent and reliable health care in the South African context. I gained
experience working with inpatients and outpatients, with a multitude of diagnoses.

My favourite part of my job is being able to see the progress and improvement in my patients’
lives as well as using my profession for good while advocating for any and all
communication/swallowing needs for patients.

I am friendly, passionate and curious. This, paired with my diverse background, helps me connect and empathise with patients from all walks of life. To supplement this I speak English
and Afrikaans fluently, as well as basic isiXhosa and conversational French.

Idrees Karani

Speech Therapist

I graduated from Stellenbosch University in 2020, and completed my community service at GJGM Regional Hospital in KwaZuluNatal. It was here where I further developed my skills on cases ranging from complex paediatric speech and language pathologies to feeding assessments.

I am a driven individual with a passion for helping others and bringing about positive change wherever I can. As a child I was exposed to the lesser green side of the world, being witness to extreme poverty and hardship first-hand while living in Sudan, which allowed me to see the world with a compassionate eye as I grew up.

I believe that my own multi-cultural family and extensive travel has equipped me with the necessary tools to be empathetic and understanding towards those from diverse backgrounds. I have engaged with a range of cultures and languages, some of which I had the privilege of learning formally, such as Arabic.

As a male speech therapist, I often find myself being asked why I chose this career. In all honesty, it was only after job-shadowing a speech-therapist did I really discover what this field was about. Beyond speech and learning pathologies, what I see the need for amongst children and young adults are good role models, and patient, kind carers and aspire to channel this in practice. 

My current interests include paediatric and adult feeding difficulties, fluency and voicedisorders, cerebral palsy, and adult neurology.

  • I am very satisfied with the results my son has shown. We have been bringing Zachariah for a while and am amazed at the progress he has made. One never realises the importance of spoken language until you have a child that is unable to communicate with you.
    Tamlynn Kleinschmidt - Patient
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