Welcome to SpeakAble
I would like to welcome you all to my website and my very first blog post! Bringing my vision of SpeakAble Speech Therapy Services to life has been a very exciting process from start to finish, and could not have been possible without the support of many inspiring people along the way. I would like to provide some insight into how I became interested in this line of work, as it is a question that I encounter frequently. Not only is speech-language pathology a very specific field in which to be involved, many individuals I come across do not exactly know what it entails unless they, or someone they know, has had a need for services. “Do you help people give speeches?” is one question that I hear often. As a professor of mine once said, “speech-language pathologists help with everything from here upward”, pointing to her collarbone. The field is vast and colleagues of mine are now working in a variety of different settings with a variety of different populations. Some areas of focus included in a speech-language pathologist’s (SLP’s) scope of practice include: social communication and swallowing function with individuals who have suffered a stroke, literacy skills for all ages, and executive functioning skills (i.e., planning and organization) for individuals who have suffered a brain injury.
My passion lies in the pediatric world, and more recently, I have developed an interest in accent modification with adults. My curiosity in the profession peaked right after high school, before I had even embarked on my post-secondary education. I worked as an applied behaviour interventionist (ABA therapist) with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) – speech therapists love acronyms! ABA therapy is a behavioural approach to learning, which centers on the use of positive reinforcement. During a span of 5 years, I worked intensively with a wide range of children with autism on interdisciplinary teams, collaborating with other ABA therapists, SLPs, physiotherapists and psychologists. I worked with these children in their homes and developed authentic and trusting bonds with their families. Being in their environment and surrounded by their support system, allowed me to connect to these client’s multifaceted lives with a holistic understanding – from swimming lessons to meal times, to morning routines and music class. The list went on, but was not limited to their appointments with their SLPs. After observing some SLP sessions in order to implement the strategies into the child’s behaviour program, I was sold and the rest is history. Truly everything I have done since that time was to get to where I am today. Of course, there were challenges along the way, as that is a fact of life, but helping a child to say “mom” for the first time, or seeing a school-aged child gleam with pride after overcoming that pesky “s” lisp, makes every day worthwhile.
At SpeakAble Speech Therapy Services, we provide assessment and treatment in client’s homes. Life is busy, between traffic, soccer practice, a newborn, tutoring lessons, carpooling, doctors appointments, etc., and we are sometimes left with little valuable family time before bed, let alone driving to a speech therapist’s office. Regardless of all of the above factors, convenience is key. As was evident during my experience as an in-home ABA therapist, rapport is quickly built between a clinician and a client when in a safe, quiet home environment. A trusting and comfortable relationship can propel the rate of progress. Home visits are beneficial for more reasons than convenience and comfort. They also allow parents and caregivers to be actively involved and participate in the sessions in a natural, non-contrived environment. I often tell parents that one weekly session, regardless of the goals being targeted, will not show generalization and consistent results without the involvement of the parents and carry though of strategies at home. In-home therapy fosters a learning opportunity in a setting that will most naturally reflect the rest of the week outside of the speech session.
I will always have these special individuals, from my early years as a behaviourist, to thank for inspiring me to devote my education and career to helping others reach their full potential. I have focused all that passion and inspiration into SpeakAble Speech Therapy Services, which thrives on providing clients with top quality services in a convenient and comfortable location, and with compassion and consideration for each individual’s specific needs. I look forward to hearing from you, and hope that you continue to read future blog posts for discussion on more specific topics in speech and language today and/or practical tips to try at home.
Tamara Paull M.Sc, Speech-Language Pathologist, Reg. CASLPO