Active Communication Therapy

Tanis is the founder of Active Communication Therapy. She received her degree in Speech Language Pathology from Minot State University and an undergraduate degree in Developmental Psychology from the University of Winnipeg. She has been practicing for years in a variety of settings; including hospitals, mental health clinics, schools, and private practice. Tanis has extensive experience in the assessment and treatment of children with difficulties in social communication, receptive & expressive language, phonological awareness/early literacy, articulation, and selective mutism within a range of populations (i.e. Autism, Down Syndrome, A.D.H.D., Anxiety Disorder, Developmental Delay, Learning Disabilities, etc.). This includes individualized program planning, conducting individual and group therapy sessions, development and use of low-tech Augmentative Communication Systems, supervising Communicative Disorders Assistants, and providing guidance/support to the families and caregivers. Tanis has a passion for utilizing her skills to help optimize a child's communicative ability across all aspects of his/her life. 

Julie completed her degree in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Ottawa. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in Linguistics from the same university. She joined Active Communication Therapy in 2005 and has worked in various settings offering speech-language pathology services in both French and English. She has experience working with children who present with speech (articulation/phonology, voice, fluency) and/or language (receptive and expressive language) delays, disorders, phonological awareness, social communication difficulties, and selective mutism. She is certified to provide Hanen Parent Training Programs for families (It Takes Two to Talk, Target Word), Lidcombe (fluency training program for preschool children), and "Dynamique Naturelle de la Parole" (level A and B).

Marjorie has over 35 years of experience, servicing clients in the Ottawa Valley region. She received her degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Syracuse University in New York State. Since then she has worked in a variety of team settings, to support the communication needs of children and youth with a range of behavioural, learning, developmental and/or physical disabilities. She is certified to provide Hanen Parent Training Programs for families of children with developmental delays and with Autism Spectrum Disorders. She is also an experienced authorizer with the Assistive Devices Program in Ontario, which supports families to access augmentative communication equipment for individuals who are not able to communicate with speech. 

Melissa attended McGill University where she completed her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Linguistics in 2012 and her Masters degree in Speech-Language Pathology in 2014. She has worked with early intervention completing assessment and treatment in children’s homes, preschools and at specialized playgroups. She has experience supporting children with their verbal and non-verbal language, interaction and play skills, speech (articulation), fluency (stuttering), voice, pragmatic (social), and pre-reading/ reading skills. 

Melissa also leads Conversation Groups working on social skills and building peer relationships with those who have social language deficits. She has a vast amount of experience supporting various populations, including Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down Syndrome, Learning Disabilities and Developmental Delays. She is certified in Hanen (It Takes Two to Talk, More than Words and Target Word), Social Thinking, Reference and Regulate and Lidcombe. Melissa is rewarded in seeing so many successes through family collaboration; she listens to each families’ concerns and individualizes therapy accordingly.  Melissa’s enthusiasm for the children is abundant and her passion in helping children reach their full potential is clear. 

Jacqueline is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario, where she completed both her Honour's Bachelor degree in Linguistics and French Studies as well as her Master of Clinical Science in Speech-Language Pathology. She has experience supporting children with their speech (articulation and phonology), fluency (stuttering) and language (expressive and receptive). She has also collaborated with interdisciplinary teams of SL-Ps, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and social workers to support preschool and school age children. She provides virtual and in-person therapy for clients using a family-centered approach. She is enthusiastic about continuing her education to be able to always provide children and their families with the best possible services. 

Monica received her Honour’s degree in Communication Studies from University of Windsor and her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Before becoming a Speech-Language Pathologist, she worked as a Speech-Language Pathology Assistant in early intervention, providing speech and language treatment

for the young paediatric population. She has provided speech and language treatment in a variety of outpatient clinical settings, doing both in-person and virtual assessments and treatment. She has run individual and group sessions focusing on pediatric articulation and phonology, expressive and receptive language, early literacy, and bilingual English/Spanish treatment. Professional interests include speech sound disorders, PROMPT therapy for motor speech disorders, augmentative and alternative communication, and craniofacial disorders such as cleft lip/palate.

Carley is a graduate of Carleton University, where she completed her bachelor’s degree in Cognitive Science, with a specialization in language and linguistic studies. She has received her graduate certification as a Communicative Disorders Assistant at St. Lawrence College and is a registered CDAAC member. She has worked with toddlers and school-aged children with a variety of speech and language needs including early language development, articulation and grammar challenges, and social language difficulties. Carley has experience working with children in both Autism Spectrum Disorder and Down Syndrome populations. She is a level 1 trained provider of Picture Exchange Communication Systems (PECS) and has experience working with children who use augmented or alternative communication systems as their primary method of communication. Carley is devoted to constantly learning and growing as a clinician to provide the best possible family-centred care.

Yara graduated with a Bachelor Honors degree in Speech Pathology (Bsc.SLP) from the Lebanese University. She then specialized in early intervention for children with hearing loss and obtained her Listening and Spoken Language Specialist certification (LSLS Cert. AVT). She has over 7 years of experience working with young children with hearing loss, early intervention services, and speech and language needs in both English and Arabic. She provides CDA therapy for children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down Syndrome, Speech and language disorders and other speech and language needs. Yara values family centered approaches and partnership with parents to build their child's speech and language skills. 

Susan has more than 30 years experience working with children and adults with developmental disabilities in collaboration with their families, caregivers in Renfrew County. Susan received a BA in Psychology from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario and her Communicative Disorders Assistant diploma from Georgian College in Orillia and is a registered CDAAC member. She has vast experience in working with individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down Syndrome and various types of developmental delays. In addition, she has years of experience in implementing applied behavioural principles and working within a behavioural team. Susan is passionate about helping children and adults reach their communication goals through in person therapy in the Renfrew County and West Ottawa areas.