Promised I'd take you along on my 3 day assessment trip to 2 communities which are 300 and 400 km away from where I live in Thunder Bay... and that starts with packing! I'm driving, so not as strapped for room, however I am still prioritizing re-using materials and fitting as much as I can into this bag! I'll be assessing speech, language, fluency,  and AAC this trip for school aged children. I've packed...

• standardized tests (GFTA-3 & CELF-5) and informal assessments (social scenarios, reading tasks)
• Pop Pig
• Grouch Couch
• r minis (lots of kiddos working on /r/)
• iPad with AAC apps and speech & language apps
• chipper chat chips, magnetic wand, and some holiday pictures
• oral motor exam cards
• also pictured, Cleo trying to sneak into my bag
• not pictured: pens. Lots of pens.

What are your go-to assessment materials?

Two things can be true at once.

Social media often glamourizes doing things independently, but the grass isn't always greener. And while I wouldn't change my decision (at least not at this point of my life), I don't think it's representative to not share these aspects as well, especially for SLPs or other healthcare professionals thinking of starting a business. Ultimately it comes up to weighing sacrifices and rewards, and there's no decision that's best for *everyone.*

Halle's 1:1 coaching spots are perfect for prospective SLPs, new grads, or those looking for mentorship in a variety of areas. (These coaching calls are tailored for Canadian students and clinicians.)

Consults calls will focus on your interests, and can include topics such as:

• application process and tips for Canadian SLP programs
  
• finding the perfect job for you (we love unconventional over here!)
  
• considerations for providing culturally sensitive and appropriate assessment & treatment services
  
• subcontracting on the side
  
• establishing and growing a private practice; hiring
  
• using social media effectively for your practice
  
• working and hiring other professionals such as CDAs, music therapist, occupational therapists, etc.

Reach out to [email protected] or check out our 1:1 Coaching Page for more information!

Something's a little different!

Follow along for a day in the life of a SLP small business owner and a primarily WFH day. There's also a guest appearance at the end by @crescendo.communication!

Not pictured: the 2 months of mileage I caught up on...

Thanks to @mynookly and for everyone who voted, to help our "Gestalt Language Learning" story win the Judges Choice Award!

We have been loving using Nookly to create personalized social stories - you can create your own character and write your own story (in a matter of MINUTES), or adapt one from the shared library. We've been using Nookly for creating stories about everything from using AAC devices, to social communication, to gestalt language learning. Our kids love seeing "themselves" represented in the stories as well!

Click here to read Halle's story, and use our code: HAEPISLP1 to try 1 month of Nookly for free!

So often, parents (& even clinicians!) can get caught up on "milestones" that a child "should have" reached by a certain age. But a quick Google search will often show really conflicting information for milestones, which can lead to further confusion or anxiety in parents.

"Milestones" are just guidelines, similar to how BMI is a guideline (but often NOT accurate and inappropriate for many people).

As a parent, you know best and what feels right. Someone working with your child should be looking at the full picture and your child's specific strengths, instead of comparing to numbers that may not be representative for a multitude of reasons.

If you have questions about your child's development, or the "milestones" don’t seem to be representative of your child and their unique development, our SLPs & OTs are here to help! That's the exact reason we developed our baby & toddler check-ins, so we can discuss how your child is developing and look at your child holistically. Because let's face it, your child is more than numbers and check-boxes!

Your quick Monday reminder that language therapy (AND AAC therapy) shouldn't *ONLY* focus on requesting.

While many late-talkers or AAC users are motivated by asking for something, we need to ensure we are modelling and teaching all the reasons we communicate! If we don't, we may be limiting our children's scope of communication and the connections they can build with others. Just think about how boring it would be if you could only ask for something, and not comment, tease, protest, narrate, or exclaim! Let's make sure we're doing the same for our clients today.

I had such a great time appearing on the @greatlanguagepartnerpod and speaking with Nicole @connectionsspeechpathology and Katja @bohospeechie about HAEPI's innovative approach to combining music therapy with speech therapy to support gestalt language processors. We had such a great conversation that leaves listeners with actionable ways to support GLPs by providing lots of musical input and opportunities. Click below to listen to the full episode!

Kicking off AAC Awareness month with some differences between high tech and low tech AAC!

While it is always a good idea to have low tech available as a backup, remember there is NO prerequisite for high tech (and robust!) AAC systems, meaning kids shouldn't start with PECs (which only focuses on requesting) or have to 'prove' that they are ready for a more complex communication system.

​Just like speaking children hear and learn from a complex adult language system, we need to provide the same models and access to children who are non- or minimally- speaking through THEIR modality. 

Halle has opened up 1:1 coaching spots for prospective SLPs, new grads, or those looking for mentorship in a variety of areas. These coaching calls are tailored for Canadian students and clinicians.

Consults calls will focus on your interests, and can include topics such as:

• application process and tips for Canadian SLP programs
• finding the perfect job for you (we love unconventional over here!)
• considerations for providing culturally sensitive and appropriate assessment & treatment services
• subcontracting on the side
• establishing and growing a private practice; hiring
• using social media effectively for your practice
• working with and hiring other professionals such as CDAs, music therapists, occupational therapists, etc.

Reach out to [email protected] or check out our Coaching Page for more information!

We often hear the term "presuming competence," but what exactly does that mean in practice?

It can look like...

• understanding that minimally speaking children can understand more than they can express, so we should assume that they are understanding everything we are saying and not talk about them as if they aren't there or use "baby talk"
• believing that a child starting out with an AAC device will be capable of using it and growing their language, so providing them with the most buttons (words) available instead of limiting their choices to what *we think* they know
  
• including a child's interests, but also providing age appropriate content and opportunities for social inclusion and engagement with peers
• teaching vocabulary that is relevant to a child's life (protesting, gossiping, joke telling, etc.) - many minimally speaking kids get BORED when they are repeatedly asked the same questions to answer with their device every day (wouldn't you too, if you always were expected to answer what the weather is outside?)
• setting high expectations and working in the zone of proximal development! Kids with disabilities are too often underestimated which results in setting low or repetitive goals.

Presuming competence is part of using neurodiversity-affirming practices, and kids can achieve great things if we just believe and work alongside them!

What are some ways your kids *surprised* you with their progress on goals, when you just presumed competence?

"Haepi" life update: ran away to Iceland and married my best friend. We had the most adventurous and rejuvenating 2 weeks. A great start to full-time self employment!

We are beyond thrilled with our photography/videography team @afsylvest and @samuelmarz for adventuring with us and documenting everything so beautifully. We cannot wait to re-live this time forever through film, video, and digitals.

Photo/video: @afsylvest
Dress: @sashandbustle
Suit: @swartzfinefashions
Hair: a nice local lady who invited me into her home

HAEPI SLP is looking for a subcontractor SLP to join our team in Thunder Bay, ON! If you're passionate about neurodiversity-affirming practices, and are looking for flexibility and to create your own schedule on a casual subcontracting basis, we would love to hear from you!

Check out our posting here, and interested applicants are invited to email [email protected].

Save this quick visual for explaining the difference between receptive and expressive language to parents or teachers! Speech Language Pathologists are skilled at assessing and providing treatment for all of these areas in children and across the lifespan.

I LOVE Stage 4 of the Natural Language Acquisition (NLA) framework for gestalt language processors, because for the first time, kids are now *self-generating* their own grammar and are no longer scripting adult language. However, this means they WILL be making mistakes as they learn, and will sound "younger" than when they were scripting adult language models. Instead of focusing on correcting errors, we want to celebrate the new grammar concepts they are gaining such as:

• using pronouns
• different verb tenses (e.g., past vs present)
• using articles and modifiers

When we hear grammar errors, we don't need to worry about correcting! We can just validate what the child said and recast back with the correct grammar, without explicitly correcting.

Playing with language is just that - play!

The most valuable lessons I have learned working with remote Indigenous communities over the past 3 years has been *unlearning* certain assumed communication expectations in order to provide culturally-sensitive SLP care.

Of course, every community I work with is different, and different cultures will have different communication styles, but these points are something that I like to consider when working with Indigenous populations, or any under-represented population.

Interested in diving deeper into this topic? Halle has begun offering professional development on Providing Culturally Sensitive SLP care and other topics, check out our new page on our website here!

Bringing it back-to-basics with this post on the difference between speech & language! Understanding the difference can be important when talking with teachers, physicians, and other professionals, and an SLP can work with you to assess EITHER or BOTH depending on areas of concern!

HAEPI ("happy") is currently taking clients for Speech Language Pathology, Music Directed Speech Therapy, & Occupational Therapy during the summer and into the school year. Check us out at haepislp.ca (link in bio!) for more info or to get started today!

We've got another FREE GLP handout for you!

All Gestalt Language Processors will pick up different scripts/gestalts, but we understand that having a list of some potential phrases to model can be helpful when starting out with your GLP in Stage 1!

These phrases cover various communicative intents and show how we can model language from the child's perspective. View and download the handout here!

We often hear the term "strength-based" tossed around, but what does that really mean? 

Traditionally, medical professions have followed a "medical model of care," which focuses on diagnosing, pathologizing, and fixing a "problem." And in many facets of healthcare, we need this (think: acute care or conditions)!

More recently, developmental & rehabilitative professionals have been moving towards a "strength based model of care." This means there is LESS focus on fixing a "problem" or comparing to norms. This is especially important when looking at intervention for those who aren't neurotypical and/or interact with the world in different ways, or those with chronic conditions.

However, we NEED both models, and like anything, it's about balance! You wouldn't want to show up to the ER and not have your bloodwork compared to norms; you NEED that diagnostic information. Similarly, many autistic children need the medical model for diagnosis in order to receive funding. What's important is understanding that there are various models, and for caregivers to know that they can advocate for strength-based interventions.

We are SO excited to share that we have partnered with Options Northwest to utilize their amazing Rheal's Room (a Snoezelen room located in their centre).

Rheal's family graciously funded a significant amount towards this room as a tribute to his life, for people of all ages in our community to use.

Halle will be able to see current clients at the centre using this room, for no extra fee. We are hoping to have more HAEPI staff trained soon, to see clients here as well!

Halle's current clients can reach out to her about these sessions. She is so excited to see kids in this amazing room!

And just like that... HAEPI SLP participated in our very first golf tournament fundraiser in support of Autism Northwest! We had a blast and were so inspired by @singlehandgolf_ 's story and advocacy (not to mention extremely impressed with his golf skills)!

We can't wait for next year!

Let's talk pronoun reversal in gestalt language processors.

As a parent, you may have wondered why your child always seems to confuse "I" and "you"? As an SLP, you maybe have wondered, how do we target this? When we understand that our GLPs are picking up verbatim utterances from adult models that they have attached meaning to (as their gestalts), it makes a lot of sense!

When we honour and understand these utterances without trying to change them, and instead change how WE model language, that's when we will see a shift happen.

We can expect NOT to see kids began to tease apart these pronouns on their own until stages 3-4, so we don't want to rush it. Instead, focus on modelling from the child's perspective or a joint perspective (e.g., "we are ____"; "let's go _____").

Have questions about pronoun reversal in GLPs? Drop them below!

What happens when you have the evening off while up North providing SLP services?

You go to the Arctic ocean of course!

Miigwech for taking us out!

We could not be more thrilled to now be offering in-person Occupational Therapy (OT) in Thunder Bay!

Occupational Therapy (OT) is a client-centered health profession that focuses on promoting health and well-being through occupation. Occupation refers to the everyday activities that people need, want, or are expected to do. For a paediatric population, treatment areas include:

• Fine motor skills
• Printing/keyboarding skills
• Sensory needs and challenges
• Play skills
• Social participation skills
• Self-care skills (e.g., dressing, sleep, toileting, etc.)
• Life skills (e.g., self advocacy, safety, planning/time management, etc.)
• Emotional regulation
• Executive functioning
• Equipment & strategy recommendations (e.g., OAP Letters of Recommendations, letters of support, etc.)

The primary goal of OT is to enable all individuals to participate in the activities of everyday life!

To learn more about our Occupational Therapy services, check out the new page on our website here.

Our first in-person OT, Angela "Ange" Jewett, has been providing OT services in the District of Thunder Bay for the past 15 years. She believes in client-centred, neurodiversity-affirming, & play based therapy - which we could not be more excited about! (Click here to meet Ange and the rest of our team!)

OT services are often covered by extended healthcare benefits, and can also be accessed with Ontario Autism Program (OAP) funding.

If interested in getting started with OT, please email [email protected]!

We have had such a great response to our baby/toddler check-in sessions, and are thrilled to share that we will have 3 SLPs (Halle, Megan, Linsey) able to provide these services over the summer months of July & August.

Here are the answers to a few FAQ:

Where do sessions take place?
We come to you! We can work with you at your home, daycare, or community setting (park, playground, etc.) within Thunder Bay. Most parents LOVE that we can see you at home, since that's one less transition for you and your little one (plus not having to find childcare for siblings is a bonus!), and we can provide strategies to try using the things you already have in your home!

What is the frequency of sessions?
This is flexible, and we will work with you and your child to determine the best frequency. It may be one time, biweekly, monthly, or every couple of months. Services can be paused or discontinued at any time.

Is this service eligible for reimbursement through private insurance/benefits?
Absolutely! Many insurance plans cover speech language pathology services. We recommend checking with your benefits provider first to clarify what coverage is available by your plan .

Have any other questions? Drop them below!