Speech-Language Pathology

A service helping children and youth with speech, language and communication delay disorders.

Speech-Language Pathology is dedicated to assisting each child to achieve their maximum potential in communication skills.

Our Speech-Language Pathologists and Communicative Disorder Assistants can help if your child displays difficulty with any of the following;

  • Understanding or using vocabulary or grammar
  • Following directions
  • Using language purposely: greeting others, naming items, asking questions etc.
  • Pre-language and interaction skills such as taking turns, imitating actions and sounds
  • Limited speech or difficult to understand through articulate or sound production
  • Smoothness of speech: stuttering, hoarse, breathy or nasal voice quality
  • Feeding and swallowing

Speech-Language Pathology Services Include:

Speech-Language Pathology services include assessment, treatment and consultation to children, youth and their families through direct individual and group therapy sessions.

Consultation and training workshops are offered for parents, caregivers, child care staff and teachers. Our home programs provide support to parents and caregivers as they assist their child’s goals in an everyday environment.

Eligibility

Children from birth to the end of Junior Kindergarten who reside within the Districts of Muskoka, Nipissing, Timiskaming and Parry Sound with a physical, developmental or communication disability.

Children who have graduated from Junior Kindergarten are eligible for School Based Rehabilitation Therapy up to the age of 19 years.

Referral

Referrals can be made by a parent, caregiver, family physician, pediatricians and/or other third party referrals with parental consent:

Resources

Receptive and Expressive Language:

Help Your Child Learn More Than One Language

This handout provides information on learning more than one language. (Appropriate for all ages)

Help Your Child Develop Early Language

This handout will provide strategies to support language development in babies and toddlers. (Appropriate for babies and toddlers)

Help Your Preschooler Develop Language

This handout will provide strategies to support language development in 3-5 year old children. (Appropriate for preschoolers)

Using Songs to Promote Language

This handout will give you ideas on how to use songs to promote language throughout your day, from infancy through the school years (Appropriate for all ages)

Using Play to Promote Language

Play is the foundation for children’s learning. This handout will give you ideas on how to incorporate play throughout your day to help them build a solid foundation in their communication skills (Appropriate for all ages)

When Communication Causes Frustration

This handout provides tips that will help you support your child to communicate with others and deal with frustration successfully. (Appropriate for all ages)

Eastern Ontario Health Unit

This website provides videos, information and tips from the Eastern Ontario Health Unit on Speech and Language developmental milestones for children ages 0-5 years

Speech and Language Milestones

Children begin communicating with the world around them from the moment they are born. Approximately one in 10 children with difficulties have a speech or language challenge. You can learn more about what milestones you should be looking for your child to reach at each stage in their development.

6 Months Old

9 Months Old

12 Months Old

18 Months Old

24 Months Old

30 Months Old

3 Years Old

4 Years Old

5 Years Old

Articulation:

Speech Sound Development

Speech sounds develop gradually from birth to a child’s seventh or eighth year. This handout goes over the typical age of acquisition of speech sounds. (Appropriate for all ages)

Stuttering/Fluency:

Help Your Child Who Stutters

This handout provides information on stuttering and tips on supporting a child who stutters. (Appropriate for all ages)

Social Communication/Autism:

Help Your Child Develop Social Communication Skills

This handout provides information and a link to an online learning tool to support parents in learning strategies to help develop their child’s social communication skills. (Appropriate for all ages)

First Word Project

This website looks at Early Social Communication Milestones in children up to 16 months:

Literacy:

Using Reading to Promote Language Development

This handout offers tips on how to foster an early love of reading, and will provide ideas on how to use books to promote language development, from infancy through the preschool years.

Early Literacy Skills

These documents provide information on the importance of early literacy skills, as well as tips on promoting literacy from ages 0-4 years.

0-12 Month Old

12-24 Month Old

Two-Three Year Old

Four Year Old

E-Learning Resources

E-Learning – Child Development Programs

This Website offers e-learning courses to support parents with a variety of speech and language topics for preschoolers.