Speak Easy March 2023 Newsletter – Speak Easy Communication & Education

Welcome Samantha!

Samantha graduated from Ottawa University with a Masters in Speech Language Pathology in 2022, with over 8 years of experience serving children with special needs and their families through work and clinical placements. She made her home on the island last year, and has been working with the Nanaimo CDC. We’re very pleased to have her on our team, you’ll find her in our office on Fridays. Say hello if you see her!

Willkommen Anna-Katharina!

Katie comes to us all the way from Germany for a six-week student practicum/internship to fulfill a requirement of her graduate degree from the Schule für Logopädie in Bremen, through the Gesundheit Nord and the Hochschule Bremen. She’ll be sitting in on some sessions to observe, document and get some hands-on experience for her education. We’re very excited to have her here, give her a warm “willkommen” when you see her.

Fee Increase Coming Soon

In the face of significant cost increases, and competitive staff recruitment and retention, we have decided it is time to raise our rates this year.

Starting in April 2023, we will be gradually applying a new billing rate of $160 per hour for our Speech Pathologists’ time. This hour includes time for setup, cleaning, and communication with caregivers. The new rate will apply to new incoming clients and when existing funding contracts are renewed (e.g. Autism funding; At Home funding). Schools and current private (out-of-pocket) payers will have the new rate applied as of September 2023.
The remainder of our rates will stay the same.

We request that you give us 24 hours cancellation notice whenever possible.
Fees are due immediately upon service or invoice.
Receipts are available for tax, insurance, and reimbursement purposes.
When both SLP and CHA/SLPA are present for a session, both professionals time may be charged.

Please contact Leslie or Anastassia if you have any questions via phone (250-585-3279) or email (speakeasyadmin@shaw.ca).

Survey Participants Needed

Department of Psychology
Vancouver Island University

Participants needed for research on speech-language pathology.

We are looking for parents/caregivers of children 6 and under who have received speech and language therapy. The purpose of the study is to gain understanding on parents/caregivers’ experiences accessing speech-language pathology (SLP) in British Columbia.

If you choose to volunteer in this study, your participation will include a semi-structured interview over Zoom or the phone, which will take approximately 20-30 minutes of your time. Interview questions will include your experience accessing SLP services, where and when intervention services were provided, home activities, and overall experience working with a speech-language pathologist.

For more information about this study, please contact:Morwenna Owen, Department of Psychology at morwennaowen@stumail.viu.ca

This study has been reviewed by and received approval from the Vancouver Island University Research Ethics Board.

Email Morwenna Owen

Reminder: Tax Statements for 2022

Tax season is upon us once again, and in Canada many medical costs are eligible to be claimed on your taxes via lines 33099 and 33199. Many of you have already asked for and received your statements, but we wanted to send a reminder to any who may have missed our last newsletter. Speech therapy is eligible to be claimed on your 2022 taxes.

We are happy to send you a year-end statement that lists all of your charges and payments made to us in 2022, just shoot us an email at speakeasyadmin@shaw.ca to let us know if you’d like us to send you one.

For more information, please refer to the CRA’s website here:
https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/about-your-tax-return/tax-return/completing-a-tax-return/deductions-credits-expenses/lines-33099-33199-eligible-medical-expenses-you-claim-on-your-tax-return.html#wb-auto-4