We provide therapy for children in the following areas:

​

Receptive Language

​

Receptive language refers to one's ability to understand language. Challenges with receptive language can be seen when a child has difficulty following directions or answering questions. 

​

Expressive Language

​

Expressive language refers to how language is used. This is often thought in terms of speech, but can also pertain to other modalities of communication including use of an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device, gestures, and sign language. Difficulty with expressive language may present as limitations in vocabulary, difficulty creating longer sentences, and incorrect sentence formulation (i.e., incorrect word order). 

​

Speech/Articulation

​

Articulation refers to how we produce speech. Challenges with speech/articulation can be seen in kids who have difficulty being understood by others. This can sometimes be observed when children present with a lisp, substitute sounds (e.g., "wion" for "lion"), or omit sounds (e.g., "poon" for "spoon"), among other speech sound errors. 

​

Apraxia and Oral Motor Speech

​

Apraxia or oral motor speech challenges can also impact a child's ability to be understood by others. Children who present with oral motor speech challenges have difficulty planning or controlling their lips, tongue, and jaws appropriately to produce accurate sounds consistently. 

​

Pre-linguistic Communication

​

Pre-linguistic communication refers to the behaviours children display to express their wants and needs prior to using words. These include:

​

• Eye Contact

• Joint Attention

• Anticipation

• Pointing/Reaching

• Facial Expression/Body Language

• Social Gestures/Signs

• Turn-Taking/Social Routines and Sequences

• Babbling/Symbolic Noises

• Imitation

​

These skills are foundational to a child's ability to communicate. If you believe your child is a late-talker, consulting with a Speech-Language Pathologist can help you learn strategies to promote these skills and help prepare your child to communicate when they are ready. 

​

Alternative & Augmentative Communication (AAC)

​

Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) refers to all the ways that we can communicate other than using speech. This includes using a communication board, gestures, sign language, speech generating communication devices, and much more. AAC can be used to support or replace speech. A Speech-Language Pathologist can help to determine which AAC is most appropriate for each individual, and further help support the familiarization of these devices/strategies. 

​

Social Communication

​

Social communication refers to how individuals use language to interact with other people. It encompasses how to use language for different purposes in social settings (e.g., greeting, requesting, making jokes etc.), how we modify language (e.g., communicating to a friend vs. a teacher), and following the unwritten rules of conversations (e.g., taking turns, starting a conversation, staying on topic, understanding expressions and sarcasm, etc.).