Clinical Supervisor & Speech-Language Pathologist

Cynthia received her Masters of Arts in Speech-Language Pathology at the State University of New York at Buffalo (Buffalo, New York) in 2003, after having completed a Bachelors of Arts – Linguistics and Psychology from the University of Ottawa (Ontario, Canada) in 1998. She also holds a post graduate diploma from the Communicative Disorders Assistant Program at Georgian College (Ontario, Canada). Cynthia has over eighteen years of experience providing speech and language intervention in a variety of settings.

Cynthia has extensive experience with preschool and school-age children in the areas of stuttering, language development, articulation/phonology, apraxia/oral motor, voice, and feeding difficulties. Cynthia uses many of Pamela Marshalla’s oral motor and carryover techniques in her speech therapy sessions, and is certified in Hanen® “More Than Words”, a language program for parents with young children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Cynthia is trained in the “SOS (Sequential Oral Sensory) Approach to Feeding”, an effective way to increase a child’s comfort level by exploring and learning about food, eventually tasting and eating foods. Cynthia has a special interest in stuttering and is certified in Lidcombe Fluency Program, which is a highly effective therapy technique for children who stutter. In April, 2012, Cynthia was asked to speak at the Ontario Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists Fluency Conference and present on the topic of Best Practices in the Management of Fluency Disorders in the School Health Sector. In addition, Cynthia has extensive experience with the adult population for fluency and voice disorders.

Cynthia has experience providing developmental assessments, as part of an interdisciplinary team including Speech-Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, Psychologists, Social Workers, Developmental Paediatricians and Developmental Neurologists, for preschool and school age children. Many of these children often present with significant neurodevelopmental (for example, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Intellectual Disability, etc.) and/or significant social communication and self-regulation challenges.

Cynthia is passionate about providing client and family-centered services in order to create meaningful change in the lives of her clients. Her goal is to ensure family and caregiver involvement in speech and language therapy in order to maximize the benefits to see carryover into their daily lives.

Certifications include:

• The Lidcombe Fluency Program
• Hanen® Instructor “More than Words”
• Sequential-Oral-Sensory (SOS) Feeding Approach Basic Level
• Sequential-Oral-Sensory (SOS) Feeding Approach Advanced Workshop: Food Scientist
• Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS 2) Clinic Workshop

Training and Workshops attended by Cynthia:

• Kaufman Speech to Language Protocol
• Hanen®: Enhancing Pretend Play Skills in Preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorder
• The Social Competency Model: Teaching Social Compentencies, More Than Social Skills
• DSM-5: The New Criteria by Deepali Mankad, MD
• Duty to Report- Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto
• Childhood Apraxia: Speech and Stuttering Institute
• Client-Centered Management for Voice Disorders in Adults: Using the ALERT Model in Assessment and Treatment by Linda Rammage, PhD, RSLP, SLP(C) Director, PVCRP
• 21st Century Articulation Therapy Workshop by Pamela Marshalla
• Practical Therapy Techniques For Persistent Articulation Errorsby Pamela Marshalla
• Lindamood-Bell “Seeing Stars” reading and spelling program