Empowering voices with funding and innovation at MCH
When Mary Kate Henry’s son John was just 15 months old, she noticed a delay in his speech development and took action. She self-referred him to Early Words, a preschool program in Hamilton.
Over the next several months, John participated in a variety of speech therapy sessions, including parent and child play-based activities to learn strategies for supporting his development.
But just as John was making progress, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and services were put on hold. John had to wait from 2020 until 2023 to resume care.
“The wait was so long and frustrating, but there was nothing we could do,” said Mary Kate.
The lack of services took a toll as John struggled with the social and verbal demands of senior kindergarten, where everyone was wearing masks which made it even harder to communicate.
“John’s confidence was really affected. He had made so much progress, and then it felt like we were back at square one,” she added.
Provincial funding transforms service for children and families
Speech-language pathologist Mary Wang works in schools to provide care for kids like John, who looks forward to their sessions together.
In January 2020, Ron Joyce Children’s Health Centre (RJCHC), a centre of Hamilton Health Sciences McMaster Children’s Hospital (MCH) became the provider of School-Based Rehabilitation Services (SBRS) in publicly funded schools in Hamilton. This includes the delivery of speech-language pathology (SLP), occupational therapy (OT) and physiotherapy (PT) to support children’s functioning and development.
Lillian Ciona is the clinical manager of Developmental Pediatrics & Rehabilitation. She says the timing was difficult, with the pandemic being declared just two months later.
“At the time, MCH faced a challenging three-year backlog in speech-language pathology services with more than 2000 children waiting for care. The delay was further exacerbated by the pandemic, putting children’s speech and language treatments in jeopardy,” she says.
“After the summer, we received feedback from teachers on how impressed they were with the progress students made with their speech over the summer months.”
As part of a historic provincial investment of more than $48 million in care at MCH, the Developmental Pediatrics & Rehabilitation program has been able to hire eight additional staff, including two speech-language pathologists, two communicative disorders assistants, an occupational therapy/physiotherapy assistant, a social worker, a recreation therapist, and an early childhood resource specialist.
New enhancements to the service include an improved intake process where families receive a phone appointment within one month of their initial referral. This detailed interview helps staff assess the child’s needs as they enter the program.
Families may also work with an early childhood resource specialist who provides educational resources, strategies and recommendations to maximize independence and increase community belonging for children.
Smart Start Hub Welcome Groups: A gateway to early intervention
Families can also join the program with school-based Welcome Groups. Led by an early childhood resource specialist or therapeutic recreationists, these small group sessions include additional clinical team members who observe children while they participate in play-based activities.
“It’s very encouraging to see that children are receiving care much faster than before.”
The groups address early intervention by identifying a spectrum of needs among children, ensuring that support is provided as swiftly and effectively as possible. This inclusive, proactive approach helps to foster a sense of community and mutual support among families.
‘Welcome Groups function as a comprehensive screening process by a team of multidisciplinary therapists who observe and interact with children in the convenience of a school in their community,” said Ciona.
After participating in a Welcome Group, the MCH team then makes recommendations for services and referrals based on each child’s individual needs.
After speaking with their teacher, families in Hamilton can connect to the school-based program that’s led by a speech-language pathologist.
Making strides with school-based speech therapy
Depending on the child’s needs, welcome group sessions may be followed by other interventions including one-to-one or small group sessions conducted by a speech language pathologist.
For Mary Kate’s family, John’s participation in an eight-week group session over the summer was a game-changer.
“After the summer, we received feedback from teachers on how impressed they were with the progress students made with their speech over the summer months,” said Ciona.
Speech-language pathologist Mary Wang says the family’s participation also made a big difference.
“The engagement of John’s parents was valued throughout the therapeutic process, from selecting goals, practicing new skills at home, and sharing observations on his progress,” said Wang.
From the summer to the classroom
With a great start to learning over the summer, John, now eight years old, started grade three with language therapy sessions with Mary once a week during the day at his school.
“Mary is just incredible,” says Mary Kate. “The program is tailored to John’s needs, with just two kids in each session. She uses a model of a mouth and tongue, to show the kids exactly where their speech sounds need to come from, and it’s made a world of difference for John. It’s not just rigid practice. There’s a lot of play involved, and he really looks forward to their sessions.”
To foster the best outcomes for children, the team takes a comprehensive, supportive approach that goes beyond the child and parents.
“When selecting which speech words to target, I speak with teachers to find words that are relevant to the classroom curriculum. During the school year, teachers have also participated in speech sessions so they can learn specific cueing strategies to support the child in class,” said Wang.
Much faster time to treatment
In just six months, there has been a 32% decrease in waiting time across all school-based rehabilitation services and a 65% reduction in the wait time for treatment.
“It’s very encouraging to see that children are receiving care much faster than before. Seeing the success of the summer speech sessions in schools motivates me and the school-based team to continue innovating our services. It strengthens our relationships with the children and families we serve, as we are able to be more responsive to what they need,” said Wang.
