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About Shoreline

Values & Mission

Our Values

 

Excellence, integrity, evidence-informed practice, dignity.

Our Mission

  1. To provide high quality clinical services.

  2. To provide options for services that meet a variety of individual and family needs.

  3. To contribute to knowledge about communication disorders among the public and other health professionals.

Our Clinicians - Speech-Language Pathology

Shoreline has four speech-language pathologists who offer services to children and/or adults. You can learn a little about our team members' experience and interests below. 

Values&Mission
Our Clinicians
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Coulter

Pamela Coulter, M.Sc., SLP-Reg, Reg(C)

Speech-Language Pathologist and Clinic Manager

Speech-Language Pathology Lead

pcoulter@shoreline-therapy.ca | (902) 219-3065

Pamela provides clinical services to adults and children at Shoreline. She has worked in the field of speech-language pathology since 2007 - first as a Communicative Disorders Assistant (conducts treatment under the direction of SLPs), then as a Speech-Language Pathologist. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Trent University, an advanced certificate in Interprofessional Stroke Care from Ryerson University, and a Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Dalhousie University. She is Clinically Certified with Speech-Language and Audiology Canada.

 

In addition to her clinical work, Pamela has worked for Georgian College’s Communicative Disorders Assistant Program since 2008 as a Field Placement Monitor. In 2022 she was also appointed as an Adjunct Professor (Faculty of Graduate Studies) in the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, serving as instructor for the Fluency Disorders course.

 

Areas of practice:

  • stuttering in adults and children

  • motor speech sound disorders in adults and children (apraxia of speech and dysarthria)

  • neurogenic communication disorders (r/t stroke, Parkinson's disease, dementia, primary progressive aphasia)

  • adult voice (Parkinson's disease, muscle tension dysphonia, gender affirming voice modification)

 

Pamela has additional training for the following:

  • Lidcombe Program for stuttering (preschool and school-age)

  • RESTART-DCM (in progress)

  • Palin PCI

  • cognitive behavioural therapy and solution focused brief therapy (for application within an SLP's scope of practice)

  • PROMPT

  • Nuffield Dyspraxia Program

  • LSVT LOUD Certified Clinician 

Professional activities and publications:

  • Presenter at CDAAC Conference, "Treatment for Childhood Apraxia of Speech", May 27, 2022, Virtual Conference

  • Nenadic, F., Coulter, P., Nearey, T. M., & Kiefte, M. (2020). Perception of vowels with missing formant peaks. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 148, 1911-1921. https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0002110

  • Subject Matter Expert at Parkinson Canada Mind Over Matter Conference, April 13, 2019, Halifax, NS

  • Co-author for "Eating and Swallowing: Description, Assessment, and Intervention" in "Dementia: Person-Centered Assessment and Intervention" (2nd ed.), E.M. Hickey & M. Bougeois (Eds.), 2018, Routledge

  • Presenter at CDAAC Conference, "'Counselling' as a CDA: The Hard Lines Around this Soft Skill and How We Can Support Our Clients", with C. Lof, SLP, October 2012, Barrie, ON

  • Presenter at CDAAC Conference, "Working with Individuals with Parkinson's Disease and Dementia", October 2008, Orillia, ON

  • Past Board member of Nova Scotia College of Audiologists & Speech-Language Pathologists, Aphasia Nova Scotia, and Communicative Disorders Assistant Association of Canada

  • Member of the Policies Committee of the Nova Scotia College of Audiologists & Speech-Language Pathologists

Margaret Walker, M.Sc., SLP-Reg, Reg(C)

Speech-Language Pathologist

mwalker@shoreline-therapy.ca

Margaret offers speech and language services to children of all ages.  Margaret started her career as an SLP in 2010 and has provided therapy to children with various developmental speech and language disorders.  She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Mount Allison University and a Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Dalhousie University. She is clinically certified with Speech-Language and Audiology Canada.

Areas of practice:

  • developmental language disorders 

  • language or social communication difficulties (including autism spectrum disorder)

  • speech sound delays and disorders

  • reading and writing disorders

Margaret has additional training for the following:

  • Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) Level 1

  • Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS ©)

  • Lidcombe Program for Preschool Stuttering

Mary Biggs, M.Sc., SLP-Reg, Reg(C)

Speech-Language Pathologist

mbiggs@shoreline-therapy.ca

Mary provides clinical services to adults and children at Shoreline. Mary has worked as a Speech Pathologist since 2013, starting her career in Calgary, and moving back to Nova Scotia in 2019. She has a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Linguistics from the University of Ottawa and a Masters degree in Speech Language Pathology from the University of Alberta. She is Clinically Certified with Speech-Language and Audiology Canada. 

 

In addition to her clinical work, Mary has mentored Speech Pathology and Speech Pathology Assistant students through the University of Alberta, the University of British Columbia, and Medicine Hat College.

Areas of practice:

  • developmental language disorders

  • language or social communication difficulties (including autism spectrum disorder)

  • speech sound delays and disorders (including childhood apraxia of speech)

  • reading and writing disorders

  • augmentative and alternative communication systems 

  • gender affirming voice modification

  • childhood/adolescent stuttering

 

Mary has additional training with the following programs:

  • Hanen More Than Words

  • Hanen It Takes Two to Talk 

  • Picture Exchange Communication System (PECs)

  • Pragmatic Organization Dynamic Display (PODD)

  • PROMPT

Elizabeth Hamilton, M.Cl.Sc., SLP-Reg, SLP(C)

Speech-Language Pathologist

ehamilton@shoreline-therapy.ca

Elizabeth has worked as an SLP with the paediatric population since 2013. She has a Bachelor of Music degree from Acadia University, a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland, and a Master of Clinical Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Western University. She is clinically certified with Speech-Language and Audiology Canada. 

 

Areas of practice: 

  • speech sound delays and disorders 

  • developmental language disorders 

  • augmentative and alternative communication 

  • reading and writing disorders

 

Elizabeth has additional training with the following programs:

  • Hanen It Takes Two to Talk

  • The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) Level 1

OT

Our Clinicians - Occupational Therapy​

Aprelle Powell, M.Sc. (OT), OT Reg. (NS)

Occupational Therapist

Occupational Therapy Lead

 

Aprelle is currently on leave. She will be available for appointments in the fall of 2023.

Aprelle began her career in occupational therapy in 2016, working both with children with complex motor and communication needs and with adults. Before moving to Nova Scotia, she practiced in New Brunswick and British Columbia. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Human Kinetics from the University of Ottawa and Master's degree in Occupational Therapy from McGill University. At Shoreline she works with the paediatric population.

Areas of practice: play, sleep, toilet routines, cognitive development, fine and gross motor skill development, executive functioning, visual processing, self-regulation, social participation, parent coaching, anxiety management, sensory processing, feeding and eating, learning and being a student, handwriting, home and community safety, home and community accessibility.

Aprelle has additional training with the following programs:

  • Building Blocks for Sensory Integration, VitalLinks

  • Astronaut Training: A Sound Activated Visual-Vestibular Protocol – VitalLinks

  • Anxiety Management in Children: Practical Strategies – CAOT

  • ASSIST Suicide Prevention

  • Executive Functioning Skills for Preschool and School-Aged Children – Sarah Ward

  • PGAP Progressive Goal Attainment Program

  • ABC Boum Handwriting Program: A Multi-sensory Approach for Printing

  • Effective Methods of Evaluating Essential Cognitive Elements and Cognitive Performance & Function (CDA and CAE) and Effective Methods of Improving Cognitive Performance & Functional Productivity (Cognitive Rehab)          

  • Child Passenger Safety Technician Training

  • Safe Travel for All Children: Transporting Children with Special Healthcare Needs

  • Wheelchair and Seated Mobility

  • Foundations in Brain Injury Rehabilitation: Mild to Moderate Severity - CAOT

Michelle Lehman, M.Sc. (OT), OT Reg. (NS)

Occupational Therapist

mlehman@shoreline-therapy.ca

 

Michelle offers occupational therapy services at Shoreline to both children and adults. She has been working as an occupational therapist since 2020 and has experience working with both adult and pediatric populations. Michelle completed her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Dalhousie University before attending the University of Toronto for her Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy.

In addition to her work at Shoreline, she is engaged in research at Dalhousie University and is a co-founder of Think Self-Management, a training program for health professionals working with persons with chronic conditions.

Areas of practice:

  • fine motor skill development

  • handwriting

  • emotional regulation

  • executive functioning 

  • sensory regulation

Professional activities and publications:

  • Presenter at WFOT Congress, ‘Using Technology to Scale Evidence Base Practice”, August 2022, Paris, France.

  • Douglas, S., Plow, M., Packer, T., Lipson, A., Lehman, M. (2021). Psychoeducational interventions for caregivers of persons with multiple sclerosis: Protocol for a randomized trial. JMIR Research Protocols, 10(8), e30617. http://doi.org/10.2196/30617.

  • Lewis, K., Lehman, M., & Cockburn, L. (2021). Looking back to move forward: Canadian Occupational Therapy in Public Health, 1914-2019. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 88(1), 48-58. https://doi.org/10.1177/0008417421992617.

Michelle has additional training for the following:

  • Cognitive Orientation to Daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP): The Basics Course

  • The Packer Managing Fatigue Program

CT

Our Staff - Tutoring​

Tutoring

Hannah Markert

Literacy Tutor

hmarkert@shoreline-therapy.ca

 

Hannah provides literacy tutoring in both English and French. She is in her final year of the 5-year Honours Programme in Linguistics at Saint Mary's University. She is also completing a double minor in Psychology and English. Before beginning her linguistics degree, Hannah's education was completed through the Conseil Scolaire Acadien Provincial (CSAP). Hannah has experience supporting neurodiverse children. 

Clinic
Referrals
CAQs

Our Clinic

Shoreline Therapy is located at Paddlers Cove on Lake Banook in Dartmouth. The clinic is in unit 120 on the main floor of the building. 

Referrals

 

Clients may be referred by their family physician, audiologist, neurologist, early childhood educator, or other health/education professional. Clients can also self-refer without a professional.​

If an employee assistance program is funding your services, they may require a doctor's referral. Some insurance plans also require a doctor's referral.

Commonly Asked Questions

What is a speech-language pathologist?

 

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are the health and education professionals qualified to evaluate, identify, and provide care for people with communication delays/disorders. This includes assessing someone's difficulty with saying sounds and words (including stuttering), verbal expression, voice production, understanding what others say, cognitive-communication skills, interaction/social skills, reading, and writing. At times this includes diagnosis of a specific speech or language delay/disorder. After an assessment, an SLP will provide recommendations; this may include some form of treatment or periodic reassessment to monitor a child's communication development or a client's maintenance of their gains. 

To do clinical work in Nova Scotia, SLPs must have a Master's degree in speech-language pathology. Prior to entering a Master's program, they will have completed a Bachelor's degree in a related field (e.g., psychology, linguistics, neuroscience). Some SLPs later go on to earn a Doctoral degree to advance their skills in conducting research.

 

SLPs must be licensed to practice with the Nova Scotia College of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists (NSCASLP).  Only those licensed with NSCASLP may practice speech-language pathology or provide "speech therapy". Many SLPs also choose to be clinically certified with Speech-Language & Audiology Canada (SAC), the national professional association for SLPs and audiologists. 

 

When would a parent want to consult with an SLP?

 

If a parent is concerned, it's typically with good reason. An initial assessment and consultation can provide assurance that your child is developing typically, give you access to professional advice specific to your child, or alert you to the need to start intervention. It is important to note that among health and education professionals, that it is SLPs who are qualified to diagnose communication delays and disorders. This includes instances such as when a young child is exhibiting possible late language emergence ("late talker"), has started to stutter, or is suspected of experiencing delayed or disordered speech sound acquisition. It also includes the identification of children who may have developmental language disorder or a reading deficit. In the case of reading deficits, it is important to understand that although SLPs can identify and treat "reading and writing deficits", that "learning disabilities" (e.g., "dyslexia" - a type of reading deficit that impacts a child's learning) must be evaluated and identified by a psychologist. 

When would an adult want to consult with an SLP?

 

There tends to be a low level of awareness of adult communication disorders among the general population and even many health professionals. This is often because persons with these conditions have disabilities in expressing themselves - thus, with sharing their experience with others. Often, adults with communication disorders are socially isolated. Additionally, communication disability is frequently "invisible". If someone has a problem with mobility and uses a walker or wheelchair, for example, it's easily noticed. If somebody has a communication or other cognitive issue, however, it is not readily noticed unless you interact with the person, and sometimes, not even then. Nevertheless, these communication difficulties (whether mild or severe), can have a substantial impact on a person's quality of life, independence, social life, academics, and employment. SLPs work with adults who have survived a stroke or head injury (including concussion), were born with a condition that affects speech and language (e.g., Down Syndrome), have communication disorders that emerged in childhood and have persisted (e.g., stuttering), or have developed a degenerative condition (e.g., Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, Huntington's disease). With assessment, an SLP can identify a specific communication disorder (e.g., Broca's aphasia, hypokinetic dysarthria), develop a profile of a person's strengths and areas of difficulty, and offer individualized recommendations. Recommendations may include strategies to optimize communication with an individual, caregiver training/coaching, or direct treatment.

What is an occupational therapist?

Occupational Therapists are health professionals who work with children and adults facing physical, cognitive, emotional, or social barriers to functioning in daily life in their self-care (e.g., dressing, moving around, eating), being productive (e.g., school, work, community participation), and engaging in leisure activities. They are involved in the identification of these barriers to functioning, referral to other professionals for further evaluation and/or diagnosis of specific disorders (e.g., psychology and physiotherapy), and treatment to improve functioning.

To do clinical work in Nova Scotia, OTs have a Master’s degree in occupational therapy. Prior to entering a Master's program, they will have completed a Bachelor's degree in a related field (e.g., psychology, kinesiology, biology). Some OTs later go on to earn a Doctoral degree to advance their skills in conducting research. 

 

To practice in Nova Scotia, OTs must be licensed with the College of Occupational Therapists of Nova Scotia. They may also choose to be members of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists, the national professional association for OTs.

Stephanie Tuck

Speech-Language Pathologist, M.(A).Sc., SLP-Reg

Graduating with a Master of Applied Sciences in Speech Language Pathology from McGill University’s School of Communication Sciences and Disorders in the summer of 2023, Stephanie is equipped with the most recent treatment and evidence-based practices to support individuals with diverse communication challenges. She also holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree with a minor in French from Memorial University of Newfoundland. She has been working with children with speech and language difficulties since 2018 as both a speech-language pathology assistant and a behavioural interventionist. Stephanie is a bilingual clinician, providing services in both French and English to children and adults. She is a member of Speech-Language and Audiology Canada.

 

Areas of Practice:

  • Developmental language disorders

  • Speech sound delays and disorders

  • Early language development

  • Motor speech disorders in children (childhood apraxia of speech and dysarthria)

  • Aphasia

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