Services

Everyone has an accent and the capacity to understand different speech sounds. Our accents are made up of how we pronounce words, the way we stress different words, and intonation patterns of our sentences. If you would like to learn how to speak with a North American accent (what you think of for a generic Canadian/American accent) for any reason, it can be taught through structured practice and linguistic principles. I will also teach you about how it differs from your current accent, so you do not necessarily "lose" your accent, but learn the differences between these different ways of speaking. We will always start with a discussion of your goals and what matters to you. 

Many people often get asked to repeat themselves in their daily life due to mumbling or not speaking clearly. Working on enunciation can help with that to a certain extent. Being understood by others may also be influenced by the listening environments, such as loud music or background chatter. If you think that you are consistently not being understood, we can target aspects of your speech such as mouth & jaw movements, volume, and rate of speed. 

Speech therapy can be applied to your professional goals as well. Meetings, presentations, and interviews are common environments where speech is important (online and in-person!). Common targets include reducing disfluencies (uhm, ah, you know), using more precise vocabulary, being more concise in verbal explanations, producing a clear and adequately loud voice, and adjusting your rate of speech. 

Being "social" is often regarded as a natural trait, typically reserved for "extroverts" -- but social communication is also a skill that can be learned! Small talk and confrontation are often situations that are avoided because of how it can make us feel, but dissecting the components of these skills can improve comfort and confidence the next time you need to face these tasks.

People who use their voices frequently (e.g., teachers, but could be anyone who speaks for hours!) may experience issues such as sounding different (raspy, rough, breathy), feeling tense/tired, or even losing their voice completely. Voice therapy may be recommended by laryngologists or ENTs who have ruled out a pathological reason for voice disorders (e.g., vocal nodules/polyps, laryngeal cancer, spasmodic dysphonia). I can help by providing exercises, strategies, and practice for safely using your voice. If you are concerned about a vocal pathology, please reach out to your family doctor for a referral to laryngology/ENT. If you are a voice specialist, like a professional singer, I can help direct you to find an SLP who is experienced in that area.