PDSB SpeechLanguage

As an education community, we are heartbroken by the tragic events at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia. Our thoughts are with the students, staff, families, and the entire community as they face an unimaginable loss. We grieve alongside you and hold you in our hearts. We know that tragedies like this can deeply affect students, families, and staff, even from afar. In PDSB, we are here for one another. School-based social workers, psychology staff, and counselling resources are available in every school. In moments like these, we lean on the strength, compassion, and care that define us as an education community. For more mental health supports and resources, please visit peelschools.org/mental-health-…

If buses are cancelled or schools are closed tomorrow, exams scheduled for Monday will be rescheduled to Wednesday, Jan. 28, at the same time. Exams scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 27 (Period 4 classes) will continue as planned.

Happy Hanukkah! Wishing you days filled with love and light, from all of us at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peel York!✨

🎁 Expectant Waiting ⏳ Pause after you speak and wait. That silence gives children time to think, process, and attempt communication, which helps build their confidence and supports language growth 🌱🗣️ Little pauses can make a big difference! ✨ #SLPTips

🎁 Expansion repeats a child's phrase with correct grammar, while Extension adds extra information 💬. These techniques model richer language and support longer utterances - great for children using words/short phrases as they build vocabulary and sentence structure ✨🗣️ #SLPTips

Join a community that embraces and supports families of children who are deaf or hard of hearing. We offer resources, networking opportunities, and share ways to navigate unique challenges together. Get involved today! forms.office.com/pages/response…

👂 "My child can hear...so why use hearing aids?" Because hearing aids 🦻 don't just make sounds louder 🔊 they help make children's speech clearer. Access to all speech sounds (/s/, /f/, /k/ and more) supports stronger listening, learning and language development 🎶💬 #SLPTips

Children with developmental language disorder are at increased risk for reading difficulties. Authors here examined the effects of a Multitiered System of Language Support on the preliteracy abilities of kindergarteners with DLD. on.asha.org/47CTXdI #DevLangDis

Today we would like to send a heartfelt thank you to all the Designated Early Childhood Educators. Your dedication, patience, and kindness does not go unnoticed. Let’s all take a moment today to recognize and celebrate the incredible impact DECEs have on our youngest learners. Share your appreciation with a kind word, a note, or a shoutout!

#OrangeShirtDay is tomorrow, September 30. We encourage staff and students to wear Orange Shirts to honor residential school survivors and their families.

PDSB students in grades 6–12 came together for the 8th Annual Deaf and Hard of Hearing Social Event at Riverwood Conservancy! Hikes, old friends, sunflower planting🌻… and so many smiles! Watch video highlights of the day here ➡️ youtube.com/watch?v=NkiGey… We’re so proud of the community these students continue to build — supporting one another, celebrating their experiences, and growing stronger together. #Peelproud

This study investigates the effects of a morphological & phonological awareness intervention on word recognition, spelling, & reading comprehension skills in university students with specific reading learning disorder & specific spelling learning disorder on.asha.org/4eIvLsA

Calling all school-based SLPs! Did you know Apraxia Kids offers no-cost sessions that provide training on various ages to help you recognize and treat children with #apraxiaofspeech? Learn more: apraxia-kids.org/virtual-educat…

📚 Summer reading matters for every age. Check out this great article full of ideas and book suggestions to help kids keep reading (and enjoying it!) all summer long: usatoday.com/story/entertai…

From all of us @PDSB_SLP, here's wishing you a safe & happy summer ☀️ filled with play, green space and learning! See you in 2025-26 🌻⛱️⚽️🎨

Researchers seek to identify the correlation between emergent literacy skills and reading abilities (i.e., word recognition and reading comprehension) in young autistic children. on.asha.org/45AumSd @SIGPerspectives

🌸 Digraph flowers! 🌸 These fun, hands-on visuals help children practice reading and blending common digraphs like ch, sh, th, and ng. Match the centre digraph with each petal to build words. Perfect for phonics, articulation, and early literacy! 🌼📚 #SLPTips #Phonics

“Handwriting is not a mechanical skill but rather a written language skill at the subword level of language that enables the transcription of sound and morpheme units into spelling written words, which, alone and with other words, enables the translation of ideas into written sentences” (Wolf & Berninger, 2018, p. 435).

SLP student Michelle Balzer wants to be the person who listens to, collaborates with, and supports individuals with a range of communication disorders. She is looking forward to setting goals with her clients that are meaningful, functional and motivating. “I might be a little biased,” she says. “But to me, a career as an SLP is the best career out there.” Initially, Michelle was motivated to pursue SLP because of her love for all things brains and language but now also recognizes how central communication is to our lives: for expressing ideas, building relationships and participating in meaningful activities. She finds being part of the team that helps develop and/or restore communication skills exciting, and believes witnessing the meaningful life changes that occur as a client develops these skills is a privilege. Michelle enjoys the detective work involved in being in SLP, including synthesizing information, conferring with colleagues and trying different strategies. She acknowledges it’s challenging, but also exciting, to land on an accurate diagnosis, identify a motivating activity, or find an effective strategy for a specific client. She has found that guest speakers with lived experience of a communication disorder in her classes have had a great impact on her. “Sometimes, I get so focused on the academic side of course material I forget I will soon have a real person on the other end of that diagnosis,” she explains. “These experiences remind me of the functional impacts of speech and language disorders on individuals and their families and I’m reminded of the importance of doing my job well so I can help clients make meaningful changes in their lives.”