The School-Based Rehabilitation Services (SBRS) newsletter is for teachers, resource teachers, early childhood educators, educational assistants, administrators and other school staff interested in learning more about creating inclusive, supportive classrooms for students with different needs and abilities.

Crafted exclusively for our school partners, this must-read newsletter offers updates about Grandview Kids' programs and services that are the most relevant to you. We will also share helpful tips from our clinicians that can be used in your schools and classrooms. 

This spring, we want to introduce you to Grandview Kids’ new School Years Leadership Team, which includes:

Executive Lead, Clinical and Client Services, Josh Theodore

E-mail: Joshua.Theodore@grandviewkids.ca | Tel: 437-703-1004 

Director of Clinical and Client Services - School Years, Marika Beaumont

E-mail: Marika.Beaumont@grandviewkids.ca | Tel : 437-738-0104 

Manager of School Years (Ajax, Pickering, Whitby, North Durham), Corrie Dixon

E-mail: Corrie.Dixon@grandviewkids.ca, Tel: 437-703-9960 

Manager of School Years (Oshawa, Clarington), Tarak Ahmed

E-mail: Tarak.Ahmed@grandviewkids.ca, Tel: 437-738-0072 

If you have any questions about the content within this newsletter or Grandview Kids’ SBRS, please contact Josh or Marika using their contact details above.

1. A review of our new speech therapy pathways.
2. More information about how we are delivering tiered occupational therapy in all Durham Region elementary schools.
3. Access actionable tips and resources from Grandview Kids clinicians.

Announcements

Introducing our new Speech Therapy Pathways

Grandview Kids started modernizing our Speech delivery pathways in September 2024. This approach aims to provide early intervention, include families and caregivers at all stages and see more students sooner. We recognize there is a long wait at the Elementary pathway, but with time, we expect it to become shorter. 

Kindergarten Pathway: This year, Grandview Kids rolled out a new Kindergarten Pathway, starting with Junior Kindergarten (JK) students. JK students were offered an assessment at one of Grandview Kids’ locations throughout the Durham Region with follow-up treatment for up to ten sessions. These students will be reassessed and may also be eligible to be offered sessions in their Senior Kindergarten year. This pathway aims to ensure early intervention and involve the parent or caregiver in each session to build their skills, enabling them to continue to practice at home. If children still meet the criteria for school-based rehabilitation services in speech-language pathology (SBRS-SLP), they will transition to the Elementary Pathway (detailed below). Please note there is still a wait for service in this pathway.

Elementary Pathway: This pathway will support students' reassessment and treatment at their school. Tips will be provided to school staff to help them build communication skills. Parents are invited to attend an additional session to strengthen their coaching skills for home practice. If students continue to meet the criteria for SBRS-SLP once they complete the elementary pathway, they will then transition to the Collaboration Pathway. 

Collaboration Pathway: This pathway is for students in grade seven and older and those who have finished their Elementary Pathway. It is a bi-annual appointment upon family request. The student and their parent or caregiver will call Grandview Kids to book an appointment at one of our sites. They will then receive a brief reassessment, a home practice program review and update and coaching support to work on their skills at home. Students using this pathway remain eligible until they leave school. 

Tiered Occupational Therapy

This year, tiered occupational therapy services were rolled out to all Durham Region elementary schools. Through tiered occupational therapy services, every school receives a monthly visit by a Grandview Kids Occupational Therapist (OT) and additional tier one classroom sessions by one of our OTs or Occupational Therapy Assistants. These activities include activity centres for all students in the classroom, full class sessions, resources for teachers and even education sessions on topics requested by the school. 



We encourage you to check out your school’s resource binder for many tips you can reference for work in your classroom or share directly with families to support their learning and skill-building at home. The link below the School Feedback Survey, later in this newsletter, also gives an example of a classroom station session. Any class or teacher is eligible for tier one service, as the school sends out a universal consent letter every fall. If there is a student with more needs, please speak with your school’s OT for more ideas and to determine if further intervention* at a tier two or three level is required.

*An Ocean referral is required for that assessment, but not the conversation. 

Thank you to those who completed our recent

"School Feedback Survey!"

Thank you to the 67 schools that participated in our recent School Feedback Survey! We will be analyzing the results; however, the key takeaways for us include:



1. There is a need for more information and support for the Ocean e-referral process. 
2. More general information on tiered occupational therapy for families and schools is desired. 
3. More information on the discharge process is desired. 
4. Improvements have been made in communication and collaborative goal-setting. 

Our plan starts with more written information and website resources. Click the button below to view a short video on a sample Tier One Occupational Therapy Assistant’s visit to a classroom.

Summer at Grandview Kids 

Even though schools break for summer, therapy at Grandview Kids continues at our sites across Durham Region, in-person and virtually. Speech-Language Pathologists will provide treatment and assess students for the upcoming school year. Occupational Therapy will be offering assessments and printing groups over the summer. Your school’s OT will be asking for your support in identifying students needing summer assessment. Physiotherapy will also continue to offer assessment and treatment over the summer.

Helpful tips from Grandview Kids clinicians

Tips and tricks for improving speech sound awareness  

Written by Grandview Kids Speech-Language Pathologist – School-Based Rehabilitation, Sarah S. 

Experiencing difficulties in making speech sounds is common in childhood. Young children often substitute a sound that is easier to say for a difficult sound. Common substitutions are:



• P for F (pish for fish) 
• T for S (tun for sun) 
• D for Z (wad for was) 
• D for G (do for go) 
• T for K (tan for can) 
• W or Y for L (wike for like) 
• W for R (wed for red) 
• S for SH (see for she) 
• T for CH (tees for cheese) 
• D for J (Doe for Joe) 
• B for V (shobel for shovel) 
• F or S for TH (teef for teeth) 

Most children notice how the adults around them speak and gradually fix their substitutions themselves. Children who persist with substitutions need more obvious and frequent models and reinforcement to make the change.

There are three cues that help a child learn the differences between a sound and its substitution: 

1. Point out how the sounds look different because they are made differently in the mouth (e.g., “My tongue touches behind my teeth for L.” or “I make ‘round’ lips for W”). 
2. Point out how they sound different (i.e., “S” has a long hissing sound and “T” has a short popping sound). 
3. Point out how they are spelled differently (i.e., “S” is written like this, or “SH” is written like this). 

Next steps: 

1. Pick one sound a week and make the new sound the “theme” of the week, or month.   
2. Select two or three daily routines where they can cue to the sound (e.g., morning greetings, lining up, quiet reading time, free time). 
3. Notice when the child makes a substitution with the “target” sound. Immediately provide a cue about how the target sound should look, sound, or be spelled. 

• Get down, face-to-face, with the child so they can see and hear you and emphasize the sound.

Occupational therapy tips for left-handed students 

Written by Marika B., Occupational Therapist

Printing: 

• When printing, positioning the paper is key to helping left-handed students.   
• A right-handed person generally positions the paper with the right corner higher; a left-handed person should position the paper with the left corner higher (remember, “Right for right, left for left”). 
• Position paper with the right side to the left of the child’s midline. You can try teaching the child to place both forearms on the desk to form a triangle. Fit the paper into the triangle with the left side lined up with the left arm, then, without changing the slant, slide the paper to the left of midline. 
• Slant the paper up to 45 degrees so the left hand does not cover the work as the child completes it. 
• Many left-handed people prefer to make the horizontal strokes from right to left, pulling into the hand, i.e., H, T, J, G. It is not necessary to correct this. For some letters, i.e., E, L, F, it is best to make the horizontal lines from left to right. 

Scissors: Most scissors now work fine for both left-handed and right-handed users. If they are struggling, try to find a pair of left-handed scissors. 

Teaching new motor skills: Sit or stand opposite the student and have them copy you. Your right hand is now their left hand, and it is easier for them to copy what you are doing. 

Adolescent Transition Program

Child to adult services transition resources for students with developmental needs aged 15+

Grandview Kids’ Adolescent Transition Program provides much-needed support to clients and their families that are aging out of paediatric developmental services, such as those offered by Grandview Kids. Families would start this transition planning at age 15 (Grade 10) to prepare for critical applications at ages 16 and 18.

The Program focuses on four goal areas:

ACTION: Please share this flyer with your students and their families. Share in your newsletters. Post in your schools.

Who is eligible?

Youths, aged 15 to 21, who have communication, physical or developmental needs. There are resources and supports for caregivers, as well as adolescents. The youth may or may not have been a Grandview Kids client in the past. If a client/student is receiving transition support through SBRS, they are still eligible to access to access other tools and resources offered through the Adolescent Transition Program.

Where should clients, caregivers or educators start?

Download our Adolescent Transition Toolkit. This toolkit serves as a roadmap. It can be used by youths on their own, or by their caregivers and educators. The Toolkit reviews steps that adolescents must take as they transition to adult services. We also included other resources, which some clients and caregivers might find helpful throughout the transition process. The Toolkit starts at Age 12 through Age 18.

Caregivers, parents and adult guardians can join our free, online support group, called the Transition: Adolescent Parent Support (TAPS) Facebook page. It offers networking, mentorship, support and resource navigation in a safe, collaborative space. For more information, email familyengagement@grandviewkids.ca.

To make a referral to the Adolescent Transition Program, please visit the Grandview Kids online Referral page.

Ability Acceptance Program

Make your school more inclusive for all students: Host a presentation on Ability Acceptance

At Grandview Kids, we aim to actively contribute to a community that is inclusive and accepting of all abilities. Our Ability Acceptance Program is available to schools, with the goal to enhance the understanding and acceptance of all abilities and promote inclusive practices in the classroom and beyond. We teach about easy ways to be an inclusive ally, the history and prevalence of disabilities in Canada, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) considerations and more. The presentation is appropriate for staff or students.

Through this program, we offer:

• Presenters with lived experience (former Grandview clients or caregivers)
• Presentations tailored to all audiences, including adults, youth and children (starting in Grade 3)
• Virtual and in-person options

To request a presentation, fill out this form. For more information, visit our website under Resources > Ability Acceptance Program.

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, Gather

Register for our monthly newsletter for Grandview Kids clients, caregivers, their families and our community partners: Gather by Grandview! Distributed on the first of every month, Gather shares all things Grandview: new programs and projects, upcoming events, important announcements and more.

Want to view past editions of Gather by Grandview?

View the archived list on our website!

The SBRS newsletter will be distributed twice a year: once in the Fall (at the start of the school year) and once in the Spring (before the school year draws to a close). If you have any questions about the newsletter or Grandview Kids SBRS, please email Marika Beaumont, Director of Clinical and Client Services - School Years, at Marika.Beaumont@grandviewkids.ca.