The name of the game is speech
Speech-language pathologists provide vital service in the North

by Cheryl Leschasin
Northern News Services

FACT FILE:
  • May is speech and hearing month
  • An estimated 10 per cent of Canadian suffer from some type of communication disorder
  • Early detection and treatment can help alleviate the effects of speech, hearing and language disorders

NNSL (May 07/97) - In the world of speech-language pathologists, everything's a game. At least that the way Tracey Robertson sees it.

Robertson, along with Morag McKercher, Wendy MacDonald, Fia Russo and Lynn Mathiesen, make up the speech-language pathology team at the Stanton clinic in Yellowknife. They serve the entire southwestern portion of the NWT.

About 80 per cent of their clients are children and one of the most effective ways to examine, diagnose and retrain the youngsters is through games.

Any game will do, even if it's made up. "Earlier, I saw a young one who thought it was great fun to throw a tea-towel back and forth," said Mathiesen, who generally works in the communities.

Through games, the speech-language pathologist can observe, correct and monitor speech patterns.

But there's a lot more to this job than playing games.

"Initially, we will give a full-range assessment," said Russo. This includes examining articulation, language comprehension and understanding and hearing, among a host of other things.

Among the most daunting challenges speech-language pathologists working in the North face are cultural and language differences.

For example, MacDonald said, "I've seen many kids call a goat a muskox." Considering not many goats live north of 60, it's an understandable mistake.

Diagnosing children whose first language isn't English isn't easy, either. "We need to rely more on our clinical judgment," said Mathiesen.

Input from parents and teachers also helps speech-language pathologists make a diagnosis and begin treatment.

The pathologists generally spend almost half of their working hours travelling, with the exception of MacDonald, who works exclusively in Yellowknife schools.

In 1986, there was only one speech language pathologist working in Yellowknife and surrounding communities.

Today, with three permanent and two term positions, the speech language pathology team said they feel the needs of Northern residents are finally being met.