Ontario Autism Program (OAP) Approved Service Provider
The Ontario Autism Program (OAP) allows parents to access speech therapy from the service provider of their choice. All Speech Therapy Centres of Canada’s speech language pathologists (speech therapists) are approved service providers that deliver assessment and therapy services to children and youth on the autism spectrum. About the Ontario Autism Program (OAP) The Ontario […]
5 Tips to Stop Your Toddler’s Drooling
Do Premature Babies Have Language or Speech Delays?
According to the March of Dime, 8% of infants born each year in Canada are premature. The World Health Organization’s definition of premature is an infant born before 37 weeks gestation. Often infants who are born premature have delays in early milestones of development including speech delays or language delays. Some of these language or […]
Help! What is a Motor Speech Disorder?
Understanding Motor Speech Disorder If your child has a motor speech disorder you may notice that he/she can produce specific sounds correctly one time, and differently the next, for example, they can say the word “Mom” easily but if they are asked to say “bye Mom” your child suddenly has difficulty. You may also find […]
Is Your Child Being Bullied Because of a Speech or Language Disorder?
When I was a kid I had a pet hamster, that I adoringly named Grover. Unfortunately, I was not able to produce my /R/ sound, so Grover shortly became known as “Gwova.” By being teased and imitated at school because of a speech or language disorder, I quickly learned what other people heard when I […]
Do Children Recover Better From Acquired Brain Injuries?
Acquired Brain Injury in Children and Their Rehabilitation For decades scientists believed that children with an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) would do better than adults with ABI. The reasoning was based on the fact that because adult brains have already been developed and children had ‘plastic’ (changing, growing) brains, children with an ABI would be […]
How Can I Help my Child Develop their Language Skills?
Help Child Develop Language. When fostering communication for young children whose language skills are just emerging, parents or caregivers are often trained by speech-language pathologists as the primary agents of intervention. Why is this? Many of the language strategies taught to young children are easy to learn and can be incorporated into daily routines that […]
Autism and Motivation: Using Restricted Interests
Autism Motivation Restricted Interests Many children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have what the medical model calls “repetitive or restricted interests.” Although these interests, fascinations, or rituals may seem “strange” to us, they offer the child sensory stimulation and relief. Allowing your child to engage with his or her special interest, whether that is magazines […]
Does Fetal Alcohol Syndrom (FAS) affect Language Development?
The negative effects of alcohol on the fetus and child have been discussed since the time of Aristotle. He spoke up against prenatal drinking saying that ‘drunken women bring forth children like unto themselves, morosos (sluggish) et languido (weak)’ (Mattson and Riley, 1998). In 1973, Jones and Smith put together a complete pattern of malformations. […]
Missing Milestones: Does My Child Need to See a Speech Therapist?
When a child has difficulty with speech and/or language, parents often get all sorts of (well meaning!) advice: “Wait it out”, “He’s a late bloomer”, “She’ll get it eventually”. When should you start to consider the involvement of a speech-language pathologist? The following is a list of ages and stages for certain sounds and grammatical […]