Speech Language Pathologist
Speech Language Pathology:
Speech Delays & Disorders:
SLPs can help children who have difficulty forming specific words or sounds correctly as well as making sentences flow smoothly learn to say their sounds and repair communication breakdowns when their speech is unclear.
Fluency Disorders:
A fluency disorder is an interruption in the flow of speaking such as stuttering. It can look whole and part word repetitions, long pauses while speaking and can even include groping or grimacing. SLPs play a central role in the screening, diagnosis, and treatment of fluency disorders.
Social Communication & Play skills:
SLPs love to play! They can help children develop their play skills and learn how to interact with peers within a social environment such as turn taking, sharing, and playing with others.
Language & Literacy:
Children sometimes have trouble with understanding what others say (receptive language) or communicating ideas through language (expressive language). Children can also have difficulty with pre-literacy skills such as rhyming, segmenting, blending and manipulation of sounds in words. SLPs can help with language disorders affecting their grammar, vocabulary, direction following or comprehension as well as pre-literacy and literacy skills including reading and written expression
Augmentative & Alternative Communication:
Some children may use sign language, speech generating devices or pictures to communicate their wants, needs, thoughts and ideas. SLPs can help support children and their families to communicate through alternative communication methods.
Our Speech Language Pathologists:
McKenna Crisp
McKenna is a Speech-Language Pathologist with a focus on delivering family-centered care to clients with diverse needs. McKenna completed her Masters of Speech Pathology at the University of Queensland in Brisbane Australia.
McKenna holds certification in Sounds-Write which uses a linguistic phonics-based approach to support literacy skills. McKenna also is certified in the esteemed Read It Again program, specializing in fostering early literacy skills among young children. McKenna has also completed the Social and Emotional Ethical Learning Program which helps provide strategies to help students develop a deeper understanding of their emotions, learn to empathize with others, and lay the groundwork for emotional well-being. She also has completed additional training in Pediatric Feeding Screening assessments through Feed the Peds (C).
She has a specialized focus on:
Literacy Development
Late Talkers
Minimally Verbal Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Outside of work, McKenna spends her time hiking in the mountains, reading, or travelling to new places!
Amanda Strang
Amanda is a Speech Language Pathologist, who believes in family centered care and supporting all individuals to have their voice heard. She enjoys the variety that a career in speech pathology brings and has a special interest in fluency and alternative and augmentative communication (AAC). Amanda received her Master’s in Speech Language Pathology from the University of South Dakota in 2018. She has worked with individuals from age 2 through adulthood, covering all aspects of speech language pathology in both the US and Canada.
Amanda has completed training or holds certifications in the following areas:
Lidcombe Program for preschool and school age children
Palin Parent-Child Interaction Therapy for Early Childhood Stuttering (Palin PCI)
Comprehensive Stuttering Program (CSP)
Play based therapy for children
TouchChat AAC program
Certificate of Clinical Competence with the American Speech Language and Hearing Association
When she is not working you can find Amanda at the barn spending time with her horse, Magic or volunteering with a therapeutic riding program in Cochrane.
Alyssa Lalonde
Alyssa is a Speech Language Pathologist whose focus is on creating a supportive, playful, and family-centered environment where children can build confidence in their communication. She earned her Master of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Redlands in California and has had the privilege of working with children and families in both the United States and Canada across school, clinic, hospital, and telehealth settings. Alyssa has experience working with children with a wide range of communication needs, including speech sound and phonological disorders, receptive and expressive language delays, social communication challenges, fluency disorders, and other developmental differences.
Alyssa holds certifications and/or trainings in the following:
Certificate of Clinical Competence with the American Speech Language and Hearing Association (CCC)
Comprehensive AAC assessment and treatment
Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)
Hanen Program
Trauma-informed care
Alyssa believes therapy should be both fun and functional, rooted in play and grounded in trust. She values celebrating every milestone, big or small, alongside children and their families. Outside of work, Alyssa loves to cook, spend time outdoors with her pup, and travel the world to exciting new places.