Services

What Services Can I Offer You?

speech therapy, children speechMy services include assessment, therapy, consultation, education, prevention, collaboration and assistance with resources for the following:

Speech Challenges

  • mispronouncing sounds, i.e. lisp (forward tongue carriage between teeth)
  • phonological disorder/ruleful error patterns, i.e. final consonant omissions(ca/cat)
  • motor speech disorder: challenges to organize movements for speech due to muscle imbalance and/or motor planning issues (dysarthria, apraxia of speech)
  • stuttering: disruption of smooth, forward flow of speech characterized by some or all of the following: word repetitions (‘I I’), part-word repetitions (co co coming), sound repetitions (p p party), sound prolongations (sssssnake), vowel distortions (Pi Pi Peter) or silent/audible blocks (no talking, vocal tension, sounds stuck). Secondary behaviours or more advanced stuttering may include loss of eye contact, blinking, movements of body parts, avoidance of speaking situations, and negative thoughts or beliefs about talking and stuttering

Voice Challenges

  • misuse or abuse of the voice resulting in pitch, loudness or quality (hoarse, raspy) changes, such as vocal nodules commonly noted in children or adults who misuse/abuse their voice

Resonance Differences

  • challenges to direct air primarily through the mouth instead of the nose, i.e. commonly noted in children with cleft lip and palate. Some children with intact oral structures may also shunt too much air through the nose through habit. Others still may have obstructed airways sounding nasal

Language Difficulties

  • challenges with understanding and/expression: listening, speaking, reading, writing
  • may present with difficulties in three components of language: content (vocabulary), form (grammar within and between words, i.e. plural forms ‘boys’ or asking versus telling) plus the appropriate use in social situations (communication intentions, sharing, giving, showing, joint attention between the object of interest and the communication partner, eye contact, listening, watching, focusing, talking about the appropriate topic at the appropriate time, topic initiation-maintenance-closing and turn taking)
  • underlying behaviours of language which include short term memory, working memory, long term memory and phonological awareness. In order to retain something learned, one must be able to focus on auditory or visual stimuli, and hold in short term memory long enough to store in long term memory. Working memory refers to the concentrated effort required to hold onto information in short term memory while working something out, i.e. ‘7×7+4’. Phonological awareness refers to the ability to manipulate the sound system of language, skills that are important precursors for later reading and spelling, such as blending sounds together, segmenting them, rhyme and sound detection. Decoding of sound-symbols, sight reading using a whole word approach, decoding and reading comprehension strategies, spelling and writing are all vital literacy skills that can be explicitly taught
  • challenges with written expression, which involves the greatest multitasking requirements including: sustained attention, ideation, organization and sequencing of ideas, vocabulary selection, grammar, knowledge of letter-sounds, conventions/mechanics (spelling, punctuation, capitalization), phonological awareness skills, various memories, fine motor skills, writing for the reader, and the abilities to self-monitor and repair errors