
Janine Van Raay,
Communicative Disorders Assistant
I have been working as a Communicative Disorders Assistant since 2007. I graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology from Calvin University College in Grand Rapids, MI. I love my job and am very passionate about helping others who have difficulty communicating become the best communicators they can be. I have 8 years of solid experience providing treatment to individuals with a wide range of communication challenges including: Autism, Global Developmental Delay, Down’s syndrome, motor speech delays (Apraxia), Aphasia, fluency, articulation and language delays, severe phonological disorders, reading and writing difficulties, Acquired Brain Injury, and Central Auditory Processing Disorder.
I have unique experience and background knowledge co-treating within an interdisciplinary team consisting of occupational therapists, physiotherapists, music therapists, behavioural therapists, and psychologists. I believe this has given me the ability to help see the individual as a “whole.” I make it my goal to figure out what motivates each child and use these highly reinforcing activities or rewards throughout my sessions to keep my kids engaged. I thoroughly enjoy training parents on using effective strategies for communication at home with their child.
I also have experience co-leading speech and music groups with a registered music therapist. So many kids are motivated by music, and I love that we can offer an alternative to traditional speech and language therapy and make it even more exciting by adding music!
In my down time, I enjoy spending time with my husband and 2 kids. I love to be outdoors; camping, hiking, and canoeing. I also enjoy playing volleyball and soccer.