Services
- here to help -
Speech
the sounds
Does your child frequently...
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simplify
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substitute
or omit
sounds?
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This may result in requests for repetitions from listeners,
or may make them sound younger than their age. ​​
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Ella uses visuals, modelling, dynamic feedback, and cognitive reframing to teach or reshape sounds and expand usage from words to phrases to sentences. She uses explicit instruction on how you use your speech mechanism to turn on and off your vocal cords, restrict or release airflow, and use your lips, teeth, and tongue to produce the ~44 sounds we have in English.
"top" instead of stop
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"wed" instead of red
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"baw" instead of ball
Language
the meaning
Does your child use fewer words than expected or generate shorter or grammatically incorrect sentences?
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Do they struggle to follow instructions, share information, or ask/answer questions?
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Reduced understanding of what words mean and how they can be used could be the underlying cause.
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e.g., bare tree vs. bear in a tree
(these sound close, but mean something very different!)
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Ella uses highly interactive and memorable vocabulary, morpheme, and narrative exercises to broaden and strengthen language understanding (receptive) and language use (expressive).
Literacy
reading & writing
the next level skills
Successful literacy development is dependent on a solid foundation of speech and language skills. That's what makes Speech-Language Pathologists uniquely equipped to address reading and writing impairment.
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When your child reads out loud, do they sound choppy
and effortful?
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Do they frequently misread common words?
e.g. "the", "is" vs. "in"​
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Do they often seem to substitute or omit letters?
e.g., "cat" instead of cot, or "sam" instead of stamp? ​
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Are they challenged by longer, multisyllabic, words?
e.g., "pancake" or "Zamboni"
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Ella uses structured literacy intervention to establish a sturdy foundation of phonological awareness and letter-to-sound knowledge (phonics), and then builds upwards from there. She integrates reading and spelling activities to help kids increase their accuracy, speed, and ultimately, confidence.
Communication
survive & thrive
Let's look at the context, audience, and goals.
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Across contexts, we benefit from communicating our basic needs (like cold, hunger, or fatigue).
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At school, we benefit from communicating when we don't understand or need help from teachers.
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When a context or person makes us feel a BIG emotion, we might want to express it so that it will continue or stop.
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With our friends at recess, we may want to share our likes, dislikes, and experiences to grow closer.
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With a new person, we might want to find a point of connection. ​
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But communication is not a one-size-fits-all. ​​Ella is dedicated to finding the communication goals and approach that are the right fit for your individual child.
