SLP Moving to Canada? Read this

Collette — Sun, 29 Sep 2019 06:15:32 +0000

Moving to a new country can be daunting, and trying to get your S-LP license to practice can be an exercise in frustration. I have had a few people ask me about moving to Canada to practice, in the last month or so. I thought that I might write about being an SLP moving to Canada.

The first thing to know is to be patient. It will take time. Many people I know who have moved say, it can take a year or more. That’s even if your country has a reciprocal agreement. You will need to jump through hoops with Canada’s national S-LP and audiology association, Speech and Audiology Canada (SAC-OAC). And you will need to jump through more hoops at the provincial level. Here is the best advice I can give.

Do Basic Research about Where in Canada You Want to Live

Research the area you want/plan to live. There is higher and lower demands for S-LP services in different parts of Canada. Also look at the pay and the cost of living. It can be very expensive to live here, particularly in the more popular areas to live (e.g. most of Ontario and British Columbia). Wages, although typically higher in Canada than the US, can vary widely depending on where you live and the types of jobs you take.

Information and links to help SLPs who have moved to Canada and want to practice.

1. Contact Speech and Audiology Canada (SAC-OAC).

SAC has a bountiful of information on the process of being able to work in Canada (Click here). The process will be different depending on the country. SAC has reciprocal agreements with the national organizations in the United States, Ireland, New Zealand, Great Britain, and Australia. Depending on which of these countries you are coming from, the requirements may be different. If you are coming from a country not listed above, there is also information on the website on the steps you may need to go through. You may be required to take some additional courses, disphagia is a common one.

Please note that SAC is changing up their requirements for certification, please check the website for requirements. Also, note that joining SAC is voluntary but many employers require SAC certification and some provinces may require it.

2. Contact the Province’s Regulatory Body

To practice in a particular province, you must be licensed in that province. Go here to find the different licensing bodies. If the province you want to move to is not on the list, then SAC membership may be required to practice in those provinces. Each province has its own rules and steps to go through to practice. I highly recommend that you contact the licensing bodies to get accurate information. They can be very strict. Be persistent. Sometimes phoning them is more effective than emailing them.

If you are an international S-LP wanting to work in Canada, Canada can be a wonderful place to practice. Be patient with the application process and good luck!

SLP Report Writing 101

Collette — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 14:45:00 +0000

At this time of year, my work life consists of writing report, after report, after report. Paperwork is definitely not my favourite part of being an SLP. Writing reports is hard and some do it better than others. What I talk about here is nothing new or earth shattering but writing good reports is crucial. These are areas where I struggle/have struggled. They are also areas that I see other Speech-Language Pathologists find difficult. Here are some areas to consider for SLP report writing.

1. Who is your audience?

An essential aspect of report writing is to know who is going to read it. Just as important, is to identify or anticipate the background knowledge of the people who are going to read the report. For me, most of my reports are not read by other SLPs. They are read by parents. For many, English is not their first language. Most don’t have the background or haven’t yet been immersed in all the jargon us SLPs love to use. My reports are also read by doctors, who may or may not be as well versed in speech and language development as we would like. Finally, reports are often read by people who determine the types of funding and services a child will receive. In my case, these people are typically not SLPs. Knowing when to include technical jargon and when to back off relies heavily on who is reading your report(s).

2. Why are you writing this report?

This is closely tied to the question, “Who is your audience?” What is the purpose of the report? Is this to make a referral to a clinic (e.g. get a swallow study done)? Is it to help the family receive additional services? Is it to re-qualify for services? Each type of report can sound very different. What I include in a report for children who will definitely qualify for services next year can look very different from a child who may not qualify or from a child who is moving on to his neighbourhood school. The vocabulary I use can be very different. What I include and don’t include can also be very different.

3. What kind of vocabulary are you going to use?

This is a big one for me. It always amazes me, but really it shouldn’t, that what language we SLPs use and consider basic really isn’t. In one of my first years as an SLP, I had a parent come up to me and asked me to “decode” and “translate” her son’s speech and language report from another agency. At that point, her son had had speech services for about four years. She was struggling to understand some “basic” terminology such as receptive language. I have also had some very highly educated parents ask me what a preposition was, and what are visuals?

Move away from the jargon as much as you can. If you are going to use more technical language then back it up with definitions and examples. This will help those non-SLPs reading the report understand what we are trying to say. So include more words such as comprehension along with receptive language and pictures along with visuals. This can be challenging, using technical vocabulary can feel like a warm blanket in the winter. It’s warm and comforting. It can sometimes be challenging to describe terms that are clear and easily understood by people with little or no background.

4. Did you include the necessary information or sentences that are required for this type of report?

There are certain sentences or phrases that I need to include in a report in order to have a child qualify for services. I have to talk about how a child’s deficits will negatively impact their education. If I don’t include this part, it could affect whether they get approved or not. If I’m writing this report to help a family get more comprehensive home services, I need to talk about how the parents and child are struggling in the home. When I write letters recommending a Video Fluoroscopy Swallow Study (VFSS) for a little one, I have to write out Video Fluoroscopy Swallow Study. If I’m not explicit they might not get their VFSS, or it may not be deemed a priority, and they are put further down the waitlist. Lastly, what are your licensing body, school or program requirements? It can be a lot to remember. When I first started my job, I had a checklist on what I needed to have in each report. That way I knew I had all necessary information.

I am not a master report writer by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, when I first started my career, my reports were atrocious. I worked very hard at improving them, and these are the parts of report writing that I am very conscious about and are areas that I often see as needing to improve in others reports. If you’re interested in language sample, check out this blog post.

Happy report writing!

SLP Topics in Canada – The Speech Meadow