Megan MacLeod, Speech-Language Pathologist

We need a national approach to the delivery of speech-language pathology services for children and adolescents that will help address service delivery gaps and improve the educational, social, emotional and financial prospects for children in Canada.

School-readiness is on the minds of parents this time of year. Set aside the alphabet and help prepare your kiddos by helping them engage in socio-dramatic play. In other words, play doctor, veterinarian, riding a bus, blasting into space, grocery store, ice cream shop, dentist...when you dont have the right props, teach your child how to use imagination, creativity, and flexibility and use whatever is lying around! https://www.hanen.org///Sociodramatic-Pretend-Play-PF.aspx

Squeaking this in just in time for Autism Awareness Day. For many, this is a controversial day - do we wear blue or red? I love how the SCERTS crew navigated this.

Poster/Event for the April playgroup!

Game of Thrones Daenerys shares her personal story of surviving two aneurysms and gaining an appreciation for others who have also experienced brain injury. She also touches on her experience with aphasia. Ill be cheering her on this final season!

Thanks to all the wonderful families who came out to the Speech Sounds Workshop tonight! Stayed tuned for future FREE workshops and events and feel free to toss in a request.Thanks to all the wonderful families who came out to the Speech Sounds Workshop tonight! Stayed tuned for future FREE workshops and events and feel free to toss in a request.

Im bummed that I learned about this a couple days too late for the Halifax screening! Next screening is in Montreal tonight.

FREE parent workshop series! Mark your calendars, March 13th at 6:30pm.

A monthly playgroup is confirmed...starting in March at the Halifax Central Library! Please share :)

UK Clarks shoes staff to use language building strategies with youngster customers. This is a bit quirky and Id be interested to know how they chose Clarks, specifically, but its thought-provoking!

How cool is this?!

I cant say enough good things about the We Thinkers social thinking curriculum. It is designed for young kids with social communication difficulties/differences (particularly for kids with ASD) but this should really be taught in all preschools and elementary schools!

One more week until Autism Tots Playgroup at Bay B Boutique!

Why use labels? How is a label decided upon? Labels are an interesting topic and Canadas SLPs are announcing a brand new label: Developmental Language Disorder. The previous overlapping terms will be thrown out: Specific Language Impairment, Language Delay, and Language Disorder. The below article discusses some of the thought processes and careful consideration that went into choosing the term.

Ill be co-hosting a playgroup at Bay B Boutique for under 6(ish) kids who need a little extra practice socializing and making friends. This time Im co-hosting/attending as a parent with my own son and will take off my SLP hat ;) Please share widely so we can reach all the families who need this.

If youre wondering about your childs speech development...this graphic is based on new research (Sharynne McLeod and Kathryn Crowe, 2018). Note that these are averages :)

Stuck for ideas for Christmas gifts for the kids? Consider investing in some loose parts! Open-ended imaginative play fosters creativity and play skills which go hand-in-hand with language skills. Loose parts are sustainable, too.

Check out this book! A fantastic book touching on social exclusion/inclusion, engineering, imagination, and kindness with artsy illustrations. Best for preschool/early elementary. #planes #selfesteem #halifaxpubliclibrary

Inclusion can be successful when we support our educators in supporting our children!