Welcome to the Spring edition of Straight Talk. It’s increasingly difficult to fit all the news into this one page format, but I’ve done it another time! Plenty of exciting new developments in the areas of government funding and research! Enlighten yourself! Ideas for future articles? Just give me a call. I’d love to hear from you!

What’s New:

Funding for Private Schools:

The Minister of Health recently announced rehabilitation funding for children in private schools. By September 2000, children will be entitled to speech, OT and PT through Community Care Access Centres. This is exciting news for parents who, heretofore, had been denied access to these services.

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ACC):

We are now Certified with the government’s Assistive Devices Program (ADP) as Individual Authorizers. We can now prescribe low tech devices, and receive funding through ADP.

Presentations:

I recently presented to staff at Community Living London on AAC strategies for nonverbal or minimally verbal adults with developmental delays. Participants reported a tremendous unmet need for these kinds of services. We are now investigating funding possibilities for a pilot project in this area.

Terri presented an interactive workshop on pediatric communication disorders to fifty ECE teachers at London Bridge on February 17. We enjoy connecting with the community in this way, and remind you that workshops are offered free to parents and professionals on a monthly basis. Check the newspaper or call the office for more details.

Autism Funding:

As co-chair of government affairs for OSLA (Ontario Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists), I was part of a team that met with government representatives to provide input on the new early intervention program for autistic children. We expressed concern about the use of a single treatment model (i.e. Applied Behaviour Analysis) and insufficient speech-language pathology funding and transition planning for children entering the school system. Unfortunately, significant changes in the service delivery model are unlikely this year.

Our Teacher:

We are delighted to welcome Jamie Hicks to our teaching staff. Jamie has a Master’s Degree in Education and many years of teaching experience. His hockey coaching has helped him hone his skills in keeping active youngsters motivated and focused. Jamie will work with students in Kindergarten through Grade 6 in all subject areas.

Education Consultant:

Cutbacks in education funding and a tough new curriculum, translate into big challenges for students with special needs. More than ever, parents need to become effective advocates for their children. London Speech has appointed Cindy Finlan as our new Education Consultant to help prepare and support parents for this important challenge. Cindy has over 12 years of experience as a special education consultant and resource teacher. She provides literacy assessments and advocacy services. Cindy takes the guess work out of arranging appropriate educational supports for children and youth with special needs.

Tutoring as a Medical Deduction:

Did you know that tutoring services are now deductible as a medical expense on your income tax return, provided your child’s learning disability is certified by a doctor?

Three Award Nominations!

London Speech picked up three prestigious award nominations recently, including the London Chamber of Commerce Business Achievement Award, Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and the Eve Kassirer Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement. Congratulations!

Check out our Website:

Our website, officially launched last October, welcomes many new cyber-surfers every day. If you haven’t already, visit us at www.londonspeech.com. Try our interactive screening tests, meet our staff, visit our reading room (with newsletter archives) and learn more about our comprehensive programs.

"Talk about Fun" Speech Camp:

Now accepting registrations for our fourth annual day camp, which attracts 3 to 10 year old campers from all over southwestern Ontario. Half day and full day programs. One week sessions run between July 19 and August 25, 2000. Call the office for brochures and registration information.

"Talk It Up" Saturday Program:

Registrations are being accepted for eight week sessions starting May 6, 2000. Our program has moved to a brand new centre, Huron Heights Daycare (Webster at Huron). A special thanks to Mike Harkins and Kelly Caines for sharing their beautiful new facility with us!

Our New Brochure:

We’re putting our final touches on a new folder size brochure which details all of our programs and services. If you would like one or more copies of this attractive brochure, suitable for display, please give us a call.

We Need Corporate Sponsors:

London Speech wants to increase the number of funded programs available for financially disadvantaged children. The Barbershopper Singers of Ontario, Harmonize for Speech Fund, generously donate funds to our centre each year; however it is about one quarter of the total subsidy required. We are looking for additional platinum, gold and silver level sponsors, who will be acknowledged in our new brochure (distributed to over 600 agencies in southwestern Ontario) and on our website. An important cause and an exceptional marketing opportunity. Call today for more information.

Kid’s Corner: Speech & Language Skills

An American study found dramatic increases in psychotropic drug prescriptions over a five year period for preschool children with ADD and other behaviour problems. There was a 300% increase in the use of Ritaline, and an astounding 2820% increase in clonidine prescriptions. Researchers reported few well controlled studies of drug efficacy and safety in young children and urged caution.

From a speech-language pathology perspective, it is also critical to recognize that communication disorders, learning disabilities and other developmental delays can manifest as behaviour and attention problems. These children require specialized rehabilitation. It is imperative that doctors refer to speech-language pathologists and psychologists for nonpharmaceutical interventions. Medication should not be the first nor the preferred method of treatment.

Source: Zito et. al., JAMA, February 23, 2000

Ask the Expert: Answers to Your Questions

Question: What is developmental apraxia?

Answer: Children with developmental apraxia have inordinate difficulty producing and sequencing sounds, syllables and words. Typically, there is nothing wrong with the muscles of the face, lips and jaw; rather, the child has difficulty accessing the "motor plan" from the brain for speech. The cause of the disorder is unknown, although apraxia can also be acquired after a brain injury, e.g. a cerebrovascular accident. For more information on apraxia, check out this website: www.avenza.com/~apraxia/

Lost for Words: Learning Disabilities

What do we know about the long term outcome of children with communication impairments? A recently published study followed 284 normally developing and communicatively impaired children over a 14 year period, and found a significant increase in adverse outcomes for the communication impaired group, particularly children with language impairments (i.e. higher rates of psychological problems, school drop out, arrests). Kids with severe articulation impairments were more likely to get treatment, while language impaired kids were often not even identified. Conclusion: speech-language pathologists must improve public education efforts on the adverse effects of language impairment, and work more closely with other professionals to improve early intervention.

Source: Carla Johnson, Communique, January 2000

The Hidden Hurt: Traumatic Brain Injury

Local lawyer, Barbara Legate, provides a convincing indictment of the Designated Assessment Centre process of dispute resolution in cases of auto related accidents. She argues that the current system is biased towards insurers, and should be scrapped. A must read for anyone who advocates on behalf of injured survivors of car accidents.

Lawyer’s Weekly, February, 2000

Thought for the Day:

"If you want to truly understand something, try to change it" Kurt Lewis