Changing the way speech therapy is provided to remote
communities in Saskatchewan
An innovative service delivery model designed to help remote communities access consistent, intensive, and in-person speech and language therapy.
The vision of NVSS is one of collaborative empowerment!
Locals will be given the training, tools, and continued assistance needed for them to carry out active roles in the provision of speech therapy. We understand that community members offer unique strengths and perspectives that are invaluable in supporting student needs. Together, we better serve our children!
PAVING A NEW WAY
Our school speech programs provide an innovative means of ensuring speech intervention is accessible to all students across the province.
BECAUSE EVERYONE DESERVES A VOICE.
Distance and limited service-providers in the field render many communities unable to receive proper access to the support they need. Infrequent visits from contracted speech and language pathologists (SLPs) and alternative online service-delivery models both prove ineffectual in comparison to consistent, in-person therapy provision.
Inefficient speech programs of the past will be replaced with our progressive model incorporating best practices to help students receive on-going, intensive, and in-person support, tailored to their individual needs.
OUR MISSION
We strive to better serve Indigenous communities
with limited access to SLP support.
INCLUSIONARY
FRAMEWORK
Facilitate an inclusionary
framework empowering
communities and locals
to take on active roles in
the provision of speech
services.
SPEECH & LANGUAGE
SUPPORT
Increase the number of
students receiving
intensive speech therapy
and identify those
requiring comprehensive
evaluations and/or
referrals to be seen by
other professionals.
PROMOTE STAFF
EDUCATION
Promote staff education
about (and advocate the
needs of) individuals with
speech-sound disorders.
STUDENT
SUPPORT
Celebrate cultural-
linguistic diversity and
promote the
revitalization and
retention of indigenous
languages.
SUPPORT
LOCAL
Nurture a sense of
community by
supporting independent
local businesses and
entrepreneurs.
HEARING
SCREENS
Identify students in need
of audiological assessment and
intervention through the administration
of class-wide hearing screens.
REDUCE SLP
CASELOADS
Reduce the caseload for
contracted SLPs, thereby
permitting them to work more
extensively with children
exhibiting complex disorders
(who typically require
highly individualized
programming and support).
RESOURCE
DEVELOPMENT
Commit to the
ongoing development of
assessment and therapy
material that account
for (and celebrate) the
cultural-linguistic diversity
of indigenous populations.
BENEFITS OF EARLY INTERVENTION
The ability to communicate effectively is the very foundation of a child’s overall development and academic achievement - early speech intervention is crucial!
Difficulties early on can have a cascading effect on the rest of a child’s life, therefore, the earlier support is provided, the better the outcomes. If speech and language skills are not acquired in these critical early years, the gap between proficient and poor speakers will continue to widen. In fact, a slow start out of the gate will mean playing catch up for years to come – let’s get ahead and provide our children with the support they deserve!
A LANGUAGE IS NOT JUST WORDS.
“It’s a culture, a tradition, a unification of a community, a whole history that creates what a community is.”
NOAM CHOMSKY
OUR SERVICES
SPEECH PROGRAM
NVSS’s speech program is an innovative means of ensuring consistent, intensive, and in-person speech support is accessible to all students, province-wide!
Our programs incorporate in-person support of highly trained speech and language pathologists committed to educating themselves about the cultural-linguistic diversity and unique needs of each community.
HEARING SCREENS
NVSS is happy to provide schools with the opportunity to request annual student hearing screens.
Even mild and temporary hearing difficulties can put a child at risk for speech and language delay (as well as negatively affect academic performance). NVSS hearing screens consist of non-invasive measures to assess hearing.
All students receive individual reports explaining their results, as well as referrals to follow up with pediatric audiologists / physicians, as warranted.
OUR TOOLS
All assessment measures utilized by NVSS are mindful of the cultural-linguistic diversity of our province’s many languages and dialects.
Western standardized evaluations were not designed with Indigenous populations in mind, and this bias frequently leads to misdiagnoses of speech and language delays/disorders of Indigenous students.
Saskatchewan is home to the highest per capita (and fastest growing) Indigenous demographic in Canada, and yet, resources specifically tailored to meet the needs of these populations are sorely lacking. Our team at NVSS is committed to the on-going development of assessment and therapy materials accounting for (and celebrating) cultural-linguistic diversity.
OUR TEAM
All members of the NVSS team are familiar with the language acquisition patterns of multilingual speakers and are committed to educating themselves about the speech and language differences and unique needs of each community.
OUR FOUNDER
THE WOMAN BEHIND IT ALL
Lisa Brillinger
Lisa Brillinger is a Speech and Language Pathologist contracted by Indigenous communities in both Saskatchewan and Ontario.
She has extensive experience in diverse clinical settings including school divisions, hospitals, health centres (FASD team), and long-term care facilities. Immediately after receiving her master’s degree in North Dakota, Lisa returned to Saskatchewan where she opened a private practice geared towards assisting communities in northern parts of the province.
Lisa is a passionate and outspoken advocate for students with reduced access to speech therapy, as well as a catalyst for positive change in the service delivery models providing therapy to remote Indigenous communities. In 2022, Lisa achieved the Saskatchewan's Top 40 Under 40 award, celebrated for her contributions to the province through her company's innovative framework.
