Speech-Language Pathology

Speech-Language Pathology is a service that offers prevention and intervention for the identification and support of communication and feeding/swallowing needs.

Speech-Language Pathologists at KidsInclusive are licensed practitioners under the College of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists of Ontario, Therapy Assistants support Speech-Language Pathologists at KidsInclusive by carrying out treatment plans.

KidsInclusive is committed to continued education for therapists to ensure they provide quality, up to date services to children and their families.

At KidsInclusive, a Speech-Language Pathologist will work with you to learn about your child and understand your family’s needs. Speech-Language Pathologists can help improve the following skills:

• Speech sounds
• Using and understanding language (age-appropriate words and grammar)
• Pre-communication (e.g., imitating sounds and gestures)
• Social skills (e.g., greeting others or taking turns)
• Voice (function of the vocal folds)
• Pre-literacy and literacy (e.g., how sounds are related to letters)
• Cognitive communication (e.g., planning and organizing)
• Alternative and augmentative methods (e.g., using sign language or a speech-generating device)
• Resonance (e.g., speech is affected by a nasal quality)
• Feeding/swallowing

These skills are supported to maximize the independence and participation of your child at home, school, and in the community. Early intervention can help reduce your child’s frustration, decrease unwanted behaviours, improve your child’s confidence and satisfaction from interacting with peers, and improve your child’s school readiness.

Assessment

A comprehensive assessment can help you and your therapist understand your child’s communication profile and feeding/swallowing skills. Therapists use a variety of observational and standardized tools to:

• Screen for the need for more comprehensive assessment;
• Determine your child’s communication strengths and needs;
• Measure developmental change;
• Determine skills for alternative or augmentative approaches;
• Evaluate risks related to feeding.

Speech-Language Pathologists can help you understand your child’s development in comparison to their peers and help you recognize changes in your own child over time.

Intervention

A team approach ensures a shared understanding of your child and family’s needs, treatment plans, and care-giving strategies. Individualized intervention will be developed for your child based on discussion with you about assessment findings and shared goals. Based on the plan for your child and current evidence, intervention may be offered in the form of: home programming; consultation and training for the family, caregivers, and community partners; group treatment; mediated therapy (e.g., treatment with a Therapy Assistant); direct individual treatment.

Speech-Language Pathologists offer practical suggestions so that your child is supported in developing, maintaining, or rehabilitating her/his communication or feeding-related skills.