Language skills encompass your child’s ability to understand and use verbal language. You may be concerned if your child is not responding to you as you think they should, if they don’t seem to understand what you say, or if they are not speaking with as many words as you think they should be.
A language assessment can include formal testing, language samples, clinical observations, and information provided by parents and teachers. Standardized assessment tools evaluate a child's strengths and weaknesses in the areas of receptive (understanding of language) and expressive language (use of language). In therapy the Speech-Language Pathologist will work one on one with families by interacting with a child and parent, by playing and talking, using pictures, books, objects, toys, activities or ongoing events to stimulate language development.
We may also recommend:
From spoken words to reading, spelling and writing. Oral language is the natural and crucial foundation to reading and writing development. Speech-Language Pathologists are uniquely qualified to identify and remediate reading and writing challenges along the complex language continuum.
Our goal is to provide a client centered approach assisting the client, and their families to develop an understanding of learning difficulties as well as acquire skills and strategies to improve their reading, spelling and writing.
What do you do when your brain’s CEO is not a good leader?
Executive functioning (EF) skill sets allow you to ACCESS information, FIND solutions, be EFFICIENT at problem solving, PLAN and EXECUTE, MANAGE your TIME, REGULATE your EMOTIONS and INHIBIT. It is challenging to isolate disruptions in executive functioning skills from other cognitive functions as they closely interact. They are required to successfully execute complex daily tasks such as reading comprehension, written expression, solving math problems, participate in social interactions, and plan short-term and long-term projects, to name a few.
Our goal is to provide a client centered approach assisting the client, and their families to develop an understanding of EF challenges as well as acquire skills and strategies to improve their learning processes within various environments.
Difficulty with the accurate production of sounds in speech can begin early, with young children having difficulty producing their speech sounds clearly. This speech sound practice begins with babbling, and you should hear a variety of sounds in your child’s babble by 10-12 months of age, with the first word emerging by about 12 months. By 24 months, about half of what your child says should be understood by others. By 3 years, others should understand about 75% of what your child says.
These services are offered at all of our locations.
It is a common developmental phase for children to go through a period of dysfluency, or stuttering, in their preschool years. This will go away on its own for many preschoolers. For others, it will not. If you have a family history of people stuttering into adulthood, or if your child has been stuttering on and off for more than 6 months, you may want to have your child’s dysfluency evaluated. We use the Lidcombe Program for treatment of stuttering in children younger than 6 years of age. For preschool children, parental involvement in the treatment process is essential.
Some children have a difficult time transitioning to solid foods. Others have difficulty chewing and swallowing certain textures, or frequently gag on certain foods. We might also recommend:
The term "autism spectrum" is often used to describe disorders that include autism, Asperger syndrome, Social Communication Disorder, Childhood disintegrative disorder, Rett syndrome, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder. These disorders are typically characterized by social deficits, communication difficulties, stereotyped or repetitive behaviours and interests, and/or cognitive delays.
Our team offers assessment and therapy services to address: receptive and expressive language, play skills, shared and joint attention, social and pragmatic skills, Theory of Mind, sensory differences, self-regulation.
Treatment approaches may include:
Stittsville
1347 Stittsville Main Street, Unit #1
Ottawa
Train Yards Medical Centre
24-550 Terminal Ave.
2nd Floor
