It depends. We work very hard to keep the waitlist at our Centre as short as possible, but our more clinically-specific services supporting Autism and Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) do often have a 3-6 month wait time. But rest assured! Once you are matched with the right clinician for your needs, you will receive high quality evidenced-based services from a passionate Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) who is not overworked or overwhelmed by their job. We offer a 15-minute phone consultation that families can book through our website. During this phone call, we may be able to provide you with useful resources to assist you and your child while you wait for CAS/Motor Speech services to become available. You might also find another CAS-savvy SLP on the Apraxia Kids directory. Waiting also provides an opportunity to have your child’s hearing tested. You can request that a copy of the test results be sent to us to put in our file. Our clinicians all have different weekday availability for assessments, consultations and therapy. They all offer a mix of early and later times to accommodate busy family schedules. The Centre is closed on weekends. This decision is deliberate as our team uses the weekend to reconnect with their own families and rejuvenate for their work week. The Centre is closed on statutory holidays and December 25 through January 1 annually. Each clinician takes personal time off throughout the year, but we ensure our clients are in the loop and provide as much notice as possible. Our therapy sessions are scheduled such that once a client is active at our Centre, they are given preferred scheduling options; once their preferred therapy schedule is chosen, clients keep it from school year to school year unless they wish to change or the therapist has a conflict. New families have space available to them on a first come, first served basis, and can be put on a waitlist for a more preferred time. Clients of CA&STC also have first priority when booking camps and summer scheduling options, as well as workshops offered at the Centre. Early morning and after school appointments during the school year are in highest demand; we do our best to accommodate these requests but our availability can be limited. We do not offer weekend or evening sessions. We do our best to offer weekday appointment times based on client preference, and most importantly, to avoid nap times. If you cannot attend an assessment time that is offered, while you will not lose your spot on our waiting list, you will have a longer wait. We will contact you when another time becomes available. Our after-school openings are in very high demand, often booked months in advance. Many of our families understand that taking their child out of school in order to attend speech-language therapy is necessary and contributes to overall academic progress. We believe that missing occasional school time in the early years is much less detrimental to our clients than having speech-language skills impact learning, literacy, language and academic performance in later school years. We offer many 1:1 service delivery models: weekly and twice-weekly therapy are most common, but we also offer intensive services for families who may be looking to boost their child’s progress or are traveling to the Centre from out of province/country. Daily or twice-daily services are considered “intensive” services and are offered at a discount. Intensive services are often a great option for families in the summer months, especially if they are traveling to the Centre from a distance. While this can be an option, in most cases, we don’t find it is a good clinical investment. Most children need more regular practice and goal advancement than an every-other-week schedule allows. This is especially true of children working on speech sound development who cannot make gains without daily practice and regular, ongoing speech therapy. If the request to attend therapy every-other-week is rooted in finances (i.e. trying to stretch your benefits further over the course of the year) we would encourage you to save up your investment and then commit to weekly therapy so you and your child get the “best bang for your buck.” Some clinicians call this "block" therapy; we call it savvy scheduling. If you’re unsure about the best financial and clinical approach for your situation, please speak to your SLP who can help you make a sound decision based on your child's strengths and needs as well as specific goals of the therapy. Families are not under any contract for services at CA&STC and can stop at any time. We kindly request for at least 10 days notice so we can help your child transition out of therapy and help you consider if a home program might be suitable to support your time away from therapy. Unless a family is willing to pay to "hold their spot" in a clinician's weekly schedule during the school year, any family taking more than a 2 week break will need to be rescheduled with the front desk. SLPs cannot hold a spot open for any client for 3 or more consecutive weeks. The Centre offers different many scheduling options during the summer months so putting therapy on hold during July and August may be possible. Please speak to your SLP who can help you decide which of the available options is best for your child and your family. We are pleased to offer an automatic pivot to virtual therapy should a child or family member not pass our illness screening tool. In this case, we ask for as much notice as possible so we can set up your virtual link and password and email it to you. If your child has become ill to the extent that a session would not be clinically productive, you are asked to CALL the office, giving at least 4-hours’ notice to avoid a late cancellation fee. Should you need to cancel or reschedule any session for a reason other than illness, we require at least 24 hours’ notice to avoid a late cancellation fee. This allows us to attempt to fill your session with another client waiting for service, and/or to re-adjust planning and preparation time planned for that session. Our voicemail is available 24/7 so that you may cancel a session as soon as it becomes necessary. If you are unsure if you should cancel, or suspect you may need to cancel, please contact us as soon as possible to discuss appropriate arrangements to avoid any cancellation fee. We are pleased to offer an automatic pivot to virtual therapy should inclement weather make travel to the Centre unsafe. In this case, we ask for as much notice as possible so we can set up your virtual link and password and email it to you. If inclement weather causes the closure of the Upper Grand District School Board, this will result in a closure of our Centre and your clinician will contact you about options. This will be also posted across our social media channels. WAITING & SCHEDULING
Do you have a waitlist for services?
I’m waiting for services specific to CAS/Motor Speech at the Centre. What can I do in the meantime?
What are your opening hours and closures?
How does scheduling work?
What if the time offered for assessment or therapy is during my child’s nap time or school day?
What are “intensive services”?
Can my child have therapy every other week / Do you offer bi-weekly therapy?
Can I put my scheduled therapy sessions on hold?
What are the cancellation and illness policies of CA&STC?
What happens in the cases of inclement weather, canceled buses or school closures due to weather?
It’s our passion, our clinician’s clinical experiences, and the depth of our knowledge. We take our work very seriously and ensure each family receives individualized support. Yes! We have elevator access to the second floor and our in-suite washroom is fully accessible. We also have a change table available for small children. Parking is free when visiting the Centre. Some maps incorrectly place our Centre beside the Church of Latter Day Saints on Marksam Road. We don’t know why! But don’t fret! Our driveway/plaza entrance is located directly off Speedvale Avenue West, between Royal Rd and Marksam Rd. We continue to be a masked facility. We ask that all clients wear their own mask when entering the Centre. Once settled into the therapy room, your child (or the client) may be invited to take their mask off (this is typical in speech sound production sessions), however all other participants in the session are required to keep their masks on over their nose and mouth. Prior to any in-person session, clients receive an illness screener that is to be completed before arrival. Any client who does not pass the screener will be pivoted to a virtual care session. All persons entering the Centre are expected to sanitize their hands upon entry. Hand sanitizer is available in therapy rooms as needed. Therapy rooms and toys are wiped down between clients. All clinicians are masked and/or wear a face shield for all clinical interactions. An initial consultation with one of our SLPs might involve a variety of ways to build rapport and observe your child’s skills. This can include using formal standardized tests, screening tools, or having caregivers complete checklists, or a combination of any of those things. We look at your child’s strengths and what they are already doing. We assess any difficulties with speech, language, or social/play skills. Depending on the age of your child, we may have them sitting at a table or playing on the floor. We want them to have fun! At the end of the appointment your SLP will have some initial suggestions, recommendations and/or referrals, and will help develop goals to then address in therapy, if needed. Written documentation is NOT included in this appointment but can be requested at an additional cost. Please let your SLP know at the beginning of the appointment if you wish to have a report or written documentation regarding the initial consultation. Before your initial appointment you will have completed a number of online forms and sent us any reports or documents about your child that will help your SLP get to know them. Any time you receive further documentation relevant to your child’s development you should bring or send a copy to us (e.g. IEP, hearing assessment, therapy report, medical report, etc.). You may wish to bring a small toy or favourite item to help your child transition into the Centre for the initial visit. If your session is booked for more than one hour, you may wish to bring tidy and nut-free snacks for your child. A therapy session is very individualized to your child, depending on their age and goals. We might be helping you, the parent/guardian, understand and learn strategies to help your child’s communication skills by trying things out together through play. We might be teaching your child a new sound by using lots of different cues and techniques and sharing these with you. Play is always an integral part of therapy so we strive to keep your child highly engaged with fun materials and activities. Speech and language therapy can be hard work! So your child might be tired or drained, or need some time to decompress afterward. Here at CA&STC parents/guardians are an integral part of their child’s therapy. We expect you to be present in sessions and participate. At times it might be appropriate for you to actively watch sessions from a viewing room. We expect parents to learn about goals and strategies from sessions to be able to help practice throughout the week. Progress simply cannot be made without diligent home practice. We also expect you to ask questions, seek clarification, and provide feedback freely and whenever necessary. We welcome open communication and encourage conversation about what is best for your child. Parents and caregivers are an important part of your child’s speech and language journey! During therapy sessions, your clinician will discuss “homework” or home practice with you. It is important that you and your child complete the tasks your SLP has assigned to ensure that your child doesn’t forget everything they’ve learned between sessions and, crucially, is progressing week to week. Remember, you don’t need to spend all day practicing with your child – this won’t be sustainable for you or them. Instead, try focusing on your child’s goals during one activity throughout the day (e.g., while reading a book before bed, while getting ready in the morning, while at the park, etc.). You can always talk to your clinician about more ideas for practice outside of the therapy room. We provide neurodiversity-affirming practices, meaning we do not view autism from a pathological model as something that needs to be cured or fixed; it’s just a normal variation on how our brains are programmed and mapped! Neurodiversity-affirming therapy focuses on building on the child’s current skills and strengths, presuming competence, and encouraging and accepting ALL forms of communication. We never try to train an autistic individual to act a certain way (i.e. be “less autistic”). We try to be respectful and help promote communication skills in whatever mode the autistic individual chooses. We love working in many areas of speech-language pathology, but when it comes to structured literacy intervention, swallowing/feeding, orofacial myofunctional therapy (OMT), and adult motor speech and neurology concerns, we will refer folks to our amazing colleagues in the region. All of our SLPs are licensed and registered to practice in Ontario. Each clinician has chosen special interest areas in which to further train and hone their skills. Please see our About Us page to learn about each clinicians’ areas of interest. We love to work with adults with developmental disabilities. Please contact us to discuss your concerns. Yes, we do! We work with children both prior to and following cleft lip and/or palate repair surgeries that treat cleft related compensatory articulation and velopharyngeal insufficiency and/or incompetency. However, it’s important that you’re also connected to your local Cleft Lip & Palate/Craniofacial Dental team. Please contact us if you need support in getting connected. WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN VISITING CA&STC
What makes CA&STC different from other private speech-language pathology clinics?
Is your space fully accessible?
Is there a cost for parking?
My GPS took me to a church instead of your Centre. Help!
What COVID-19 precautions is CA&STC taking?
What does an initial appointment usually look like?
What should I bring with me to my initial appointment?
What does a speech-language therapy session look like?
What’s expected of me, as a parent/guardian, during therapy sessions?
What can I do to help my child outside of therapy?
What kind of an approach do you use for working with autistic children?
What don’t you treat at your Centre?
Do you treat adults?
Do you work with children with cleft lip and/or palate?
It is important to ensure your child has been properly assessed; please see “DIAGNOSIS” below. Equally important is finding an SLP who has specific training in treating CAS as not all SLPs have the same level of knowledge when it comes to differential diagnosis of the pediatric speech sound and motor speech disorders. Our team is qualified to help and you may wish to book an appointment with us here at the Centre to confirm findings and provide some guidance for your community SLP. You can also find helpful information on the Apraxia Kids Parent Portal. Motor speech disorders such as childhood apraxia of speech involve difficulty planning and programming the sequence and timing of movements needed to produce intelligible speech. Muscles of the face, lips, tongue, and more need to move at precisely the right time, in the right order, and with the right amount of force to say words clearly and correctly. Because of the nature of motor speech disorders, motor speech therapy needs to focus on the actual movement of speech structures and muscles. Motor speech therapy is different from traditional articulation therapy or linguistic-based therapy in that it relies on the principles of motor learning. This includes a high degree of practice and repetition, as well as specific instruction and feedback about how to produce speech movements. In motor speech therapy, we do not focus exclusively on single sounds when working with children with motor speech disorders. Instead, we immediately incorporate sounds into syllables and functional words. For more information, check out this helpful webpage from Apraxia Kids. Childhood dysarthria is a motor speech sound disorder due to neuromuscular weakness, paralysis or incoordination of the muscles needed to produce speech. This results in speech that might sound slurred or distorted and it might be difficult to understand the child. There are different types and severities. It can also co-occur with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). You can check out this article about dysarthria for more information. Your child needs to be able to take feedback (without bribes or meltdowns) about their own speech productions. Your child needs to be able to watch your SLP’s mouth for cues and models. And while we strive to make therapy fun, effective motor speech therapy involves following another’s agenda. Therefore your child’s ability to do what your SLP has planned and follow their rules is key. Children need to be comfortable giving up some control. This can be hard for some kids, but it’s part of the therapy process and we will help them get there! If you’re not sure your child is ready for this kind of therapy but needs it, we’d be happy to talk about options and recommendations in the meantime. Maybe. The research is still very conflicting but we LOVE this information by PhD Candidate Molly Beiting that discusses why accurate diagnosis of CAS co-occurring with autism can be a challenge, even for very skilled SLPs. As she explains, not having enough speech to judge production, challenges with repeating speech productions, difficulty with attention and/or focus, and use of atypical prosody are some of the reasons support for CAS diagnosis can be difficult. Our team loves consulting with families of autistic children to assist in their therapy journey - we bring a unique perspective that incorporates motor planning and is neurodiversity-affirming. CAS & MOTOR SPEECH
I live in Ontario and an SLP indicated my child has CAS. Now what?
How is motor speech different from other speech therapy?
Someone has mentioned childhood dysarthria – what is that? What are some resources for dysarthria?
What prerequisite skills should my child have for effective motor speech therapy?
Does my autistic child have CAS?
CAS is typically identified as a possible concern between 18-36 months of age but CAS is based on the skills (or lack thereof) of a child, not by the age of the child. Some children show the necessary characteristics or symptoms as young as 24 months, while other children have not acquired enough speech sound production skill until much later. The differential diagnosis process for CAS can be complex; determining that a child has the characteristics of CAS rather than other possible disorders is an advanced clinical skill. CAS can often look like severe phonological disorder, childhood dysarthria, and speech motor delay. A thorough assessment by a skilled SLP can often identify the correct concern, but there are times when further evaluation or child development is necessary. A child not yet producing syllable level speech or imitated speech is likely unable to be identified properly as having CAS. However, our SLPs can provide programming and recommendations for families and care partners to practice while waiting to establish a diagnosis. For more information about age and how CAS is diagnosed, please visit Apraxia Kids. Childhood apraxia of speech is a disorder of speech sound production movement and sequencing. During a dynamic assessment, our advanced-trained SLPs will look at how your child is able (and not able) to imitate and spontaneously produce syllables and sounds. To identify the presence of a motor speech disorder like CAS, a child must be able to produce verbal speech on demand and have a repertoire of spontaneous utterances they use with frequency. A child who is preverbal is not yet a candidate for an apraxia assessment. However, our team still happily consults with families of preverbal children to assist in goal-setting and therapy suggestions. SLPs in Ontario are able to qualitatively identify CAS once a child has enough speech production to differentiate CAS from other possible concerns. The SLP then works with your child’s physician to diagnose CAS. This is different than in other provinces and the USA where SLPs are able to communicate a diagnosis CAS; in Ontario no regulated health professionals are permitted to communicate a diagnosis (Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, S.O. 1991, c. 18, s. 27 (2.1)). While formal diagnoses of CAS, dysarthria, dyslexia, autism, learning disabilities and developmental delays are made by physicians and/or psychologists, SLPs have an integral role in identification and treatment. Ideally, they work with your physician during the diagnosis process. As a Canadian leader in the identification, assessment, differential diagnosis and treatment of pediatric motor speech disorders, we are able to appropriately assess, identify characteristics, and qualitatively label childhood dysarthria and CAS. We then work with your physician who will formally diagnose the appropriate disorder(s). DIAGNOSIS
At what age is CAS usually diagnosed?
What does my child need to be able to do for a SLP to determine if CAS is present?
Can a SLP diagnose CAS?
Do you diagnose Childhood Apraxia of Speech, Dysarthria, Dyslexia, Autism, or developmental delays?
We offer therapy for families in Ontario through virtual care when it's clinically appropriate for the child. The fees are the same as in-person therapy sessions. We provide virtual therapy over Zoom Pro, a secure platform. We use a variety of ways to keep your child’s interest while still achieving a high level of practice. For older children, we use various screen-share activities and/or green-screen games. For younger children, we provide similar parent coaching as we do in-person. In fact, a great advantage of virtual therapy is that we can “join” you in your daily activities and routines! Virtual therapy is a great way to maintain consistent services when you can’t make it into the Centre due to illness or inclement weather. *Virtual therapy works best if you can use a laptop or iPad; participating in therapy via the small screen of your phone is difficult and ultimately, not beneficial to your child.* VIRTUAL SERVICES
Do you offer virtual therapy? Are your fees the same for this?
How does telepractice/virtual therapy work?
As of January 2023, our fee schedule is as follows: Sessions are not covered by OHIP. Here is a link for further information about our fees and billing No. After you pay your invoice, you will submit your receipt to your insurance company for reimbursement. Payment is due at the end of session and can be made by e-transfer or credit card. We do not take cash or cheques. If you will be attending ongoing therapy, we are happy to securely store your credit card information for automatic payments. We know how expensive raising a child can be. You may have options for financial support. We have outlined some sources of support we are aware of on our website. The name on the invoice must reflect the person who received speech-language therapy services. In some cases, it is clinically appropriate for a parent or guardian to receive training related to their child’s needs. In those cases a file in the parent’s name is opened, including goals, and therapy sessions are conducted with the parent. We know that this may differ from some other professions (e.g. psychology), however our regulatory College is very clear regarding our billing practices. All SLPs in Ontario are regulated, licensed, Master-level educated clinicians. We are required to acquire ongoing professional development. We are committed to ensuring your services are evidence-informed and personalized. Furthermore we have overhead - and this is a good thing! We offer a barrier-free, clean and safe, low-distraction space for therapy with free parking. Our staff have access to up-to-date materials and assessment tools to ensure they can do their job well and engage your child. We have administrative support to ensure our clinical staff can focus on their clinical art and science, not scheduling and invoicing, and that you can reach someone by phone when you need to. Because we value team mentorship and connection, you and your child benefit from the expertise and perspective of four SLPs! We believe that the ability to communicate is priceless. But we also know that what you decide to spend on speech-language therapy is a personal decision. We know the cost of raising a child is high. Your child’s ability to communicate opens doors to success in ways that are immeasurable and adds undeniably to their quality of life. Your child will not need therapy forever, but their ability to communicate will last a lifetime! BILLING
What is the fee schedule for your services at CA&STC?
Are sessions covered by OHIP?
Can you directly bill my insurance?
How do I pay for my appointment?
What other funding sources are there?
Can you bill services under my name as a parent?
Why are the fees for speech-language therapy expensive?
We plan to release the dates and additional important information for the Speech Star Camp by early February each year. Find out more about Speech Star Camp here. Camp starts promptly at 9am daily. Campers then enjoy a day both inside and outside of daycamp activites: crafts, games, songs & play run by an experienced assistant camp director and other camp staff. Each camper is withdrawn for two individual 1/2 hour speech therapy sessions run by a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist trained to work with childhood apraxia of speech; one in the morning and one in the afternoon. A group speech-language therapy session is held daily after lunch for the whole group. Each camper is expected to be picked up promptly at 5pm. Goals of camp include: Camp starts promptly at 9am daily. Campers then enjoy a day both inside and outside of daycamp activites: crafts, games, songs & play run by a speech-language pathologist, an experienced assistant camp director and other camp staff. Each camper receives 8 hours of group therapy daily, run by a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist Each camper is expected to be picked up promptly at 5pm. Goals of camp include: Each camper should bring a nutritious and nut-free lunch, two snacks and a water bottle. Just like school, lunches for camp are "boomerang" meaning that all garbage and uneaten food will come home daily so guardians will be fully aware of what has been enjoyed and what has not. Each camper should have a change of clothes, sunscreen, and sun hat available to them daily. Campers should wear socks and running shoes. Campers will be expected to wear their face mask in common indoor areas (e.g. drop off, pick up, visits to the washroom, moving between inside & outside). All personal items should be clearly labelled. No. We will work with you to understand how to best support your camper in toileting/diapering during the day. Please speak to Camp director Brooke Rea if you have questions or concerns. As we are a private healthcare facility, we do expect face masks are worn by ALL persons in our Centre. However, campers will not be expected to wear their masks in the camp room, outside or in their therapy sessions. Masks WILL be required when campers are in common areas of the Centre: washroom, lobby, waiting room, etc. The bulk of the cost associated with Speech Star Camp for Kids is the speech-language therapy your child will be receiving. As such, our invoices clearly outline the therapy and cost, line by line, so that you can claim the therapy as a medical expense. If you have concerns or difficulty with your billing, please speak to our admin assistant, Jess Short. As long as we can fill your position, your camp deposit will be returned to you, should you need to withdraw. We ask that guardians drop off promptly at 9am and pick up promptly at 5pm so that your child can experience a full day of camp with us. Each day you will receive a summary of your child's activities and a counsellor will be available to answer any questions you might have. We hope you will be able to enjoy your day away from your child knowing they are being supported and having fun! Speech Star Camp for Kids in intended for children who At this time we do not have access to support staff for campers to have 1:1 support. We would love to connect with you about other group and camp programming we are planning, as your child may be a great fit! Give us a call! We are always looking for summer camp support - both paid and volunteer positions are available. Summer 2023 positions include: Send us your resume, with a cover letter. It should outline your availability, possible time commitment, and include a letter of intent. We will be in touch if you’re a good candidate for volunteering with us. SPEECH STAR CAMP for KIDS
When are the dates posted for Speech Star Camp for Kids?
What are the structure and goals of Speech Star Camp for Kids with CAS?
What are the structure and goals of Speech Star Camp for Kids: Neurodiverse Kids Edition?
What does my camper need to bring each day?
Does my child have to be toilet trained to attend Speech Star Camp for Kids?
Are face masks required during Speech Star Camp?
Is Speech Star Camp for Kids billed as therapy? Can I claim it as a medical expense?
Is my camp deposit refundable?
Can I stay and observe Camp?
My child needs 1:1 support in order to access camp programming. Can they still attend?
Can I work or volunteer with Speech Star Camp for Kids?
We offer a variety of virtual and in-person workshops that are available in half-day (4 hours) or full-day lengths, as well as shorter learning modules (1-2 hours). Training and workshops are for professionals, educators and parents. Customizable training sessions to suit you or your organization’s needs are offered, as well as topic-driven workshops on an ongoing basis at the Centre. Learn more and register for a workshop here. We are also available to travel to you, if you have a group or team interested in learning in Canada. If you are located in the USA, contact the Centre and we’ll help you find someone appropriate in or near your location. We consider ourselves a training facility and have an open-door policy for increasing apraxia awareness and best practice. Please contact us if you are a regulated health professional and wish to schedule a half-day observation of our practice. Additionally, Brooke offers 1:1 support to clinicians across Canada via video and telephone consultation. In these cases, clinicians securely send video clips of their clinical work for Brooke’s review and analysis. Brooke will then offer clinical guidance and mentorship regarding the clinician’s work and/or the client’s case. If you are interested in this service, please contact us for details and availability. TRAININGS & WORKSHOPS
Does CA&STC offer any childhood of apraxia workshops? Are they only offered at your Centre in Guelph?
What training support is available for clinicians looking to improve their CAS diagnosis and/or treatment skills?
For the most up-to-date information about finding a pediatric audiologist, an internet search for “pediatric audiologist” with your city name should yield good options. When calling, be sure to indicate your child’s age. Not all audiologists are equipped to assess children under four years old. Many hearing tests are fee-for-service but knowing with confidence that your child is able to hear the intricacies of speech sound production is incredibly valuable (to you and us!) before investing in private speech-language therapy. Truthfully, it is very unlikely. If you are concerned about a possible tongue-tie you might want to consult with either an orofacial myofunctional therapist (OMT) or pediatric dentist skilled in the treatment of oral tethers. You can also bring this concern to the attention of your clinician who will explore your concerns with you. If you are specifically looking for a pediatric-based occupational therapy, physiotherapy or psychology professional we would encourage you to search on their respective regulatory College page: College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario, College of Physiotherapists of Ontario, College of Psychologists of Ontario. Finding someone well-versed in feeding and swallowing yields the best results by doing an advanced search on the Speech-Language & Audiology Canada website. Finding a professional who services Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy (OMT) needs can be done here or here. Well, there is no app for your lap! The best way to practice speech and language skills is by playing with your child. It’s true! A screen cannot adequately replicate or replace the face-to-face interaction that only you can provide. We understand that screen time is a part of everyday life, but it’s best used sparingly, like while waiting at the doctor’s office or during challenging times. Otherwise, personal interaction is the best tool you have; get down at your child’s level, play, sing, create, get messy, and enjoy the outdoors! * We do use some apps in therapy to keep children engaged or motivated, and some children use speech-output apps as an alternative communication form. Talk to your clinician about any apps that might support your child’s learning. There are an abundance of apps available to you looking to support your child’s communication development, such as alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) apps (e.g. LAMP Words for Life, TouchChat). However, it is strongly recommended that you work with a trained clinician who can help you narrow down the kind of system that meets your child’s needs and the app(s) most suited to both current and possible future needs. All Ontario preschool speech language programs have access to AAC support but our clinicians at the Centre can help too! RELATED SERVICES
Where can I have my child's hearing assessed?
Is a tongue-tie causing my child’s difficulties?
How do I find other professionals (OT/PT/Psychology/Feeding or Swallowing/OMT)?
What apps can I use for assisting my child’s development?
What apps can I use for my child’s communication development?
If you are interested in volunteering at the Centre we encourage you to send us your resume, with a cover letter. It should outline your availability, possible time commitment, and include a letter of intent. We will be in touch if you’re a good candidate for volunteering with us. Except for camp volunteers, please know that we expect a minimum commitment of three months, a recent police check with vulnerable sector check, and up-to-date immunizations in order to volunteer at our Centre. We offer SLP graduate clinical placements only. Please speak to your practicum coordinator about contacting us. We are always looking for summer camp support - both paid and volunteer positions are available. Summer 2023 positions include: Send us your resume, with a cover letter. It should outline your availability, possible time commitment, and include a letter of intent. We will be in touch if you’re a good candidate for volunteering with us. VOLUNTEERS & EMPLOYMENT
Does CA&STC take volunteers?
Do you offer co-op positions and/or clinical placements?
How do I get involved with Speech Star Camp for Kids?