Private preschool has a focus on speech
New facility helps with speech needs
Lewis Parker was four when he was diagnosed with autism a year ago.
Lewis’s autism came with a speech delay. At age three, he couldn’t talk. And, through the public health system, he would go five weeks or longer between sessions with a speech pathologist.
“When they have a speech delay, early intervention is so key,” said his mom, Seanna O’connor.
“You have better results when you have early intervention, and we just weren’t getting that through the free services.”
So, this fall — in addition to kindergarten 2 ½ days per week — five-year-old Lewis will also attend a new private preschool that has a focus on speech. Pathways Learning Centre is the first private preschool of its kind in Regina, slated to open in October.
“We know early intervention and prevention is so critical, especially in those early years in prek age,” said Maegan Mason, who co-founded the preschool with her colleague Cari Thiele. Both are speech pathologists.
“If we can get (children) to that point and provide a strong foundation of language and literacy, it lends itself to successful learning throughout the rest of the academic career,” Mason added.
Their “inclusive and integrated” preschool, which is currently under construction in northeast Harbour Landing, will offer four classes for three- to five-year-olds, with room for up to 16 students per class. There will also be a junior preschool class with 12 spaces for two-year-olds.
Their team will include support staff and a teacher who has an education degree. All students will have one-on-one time with the speech pathologists. They will also be able to learn from their peers.
Children — with needs ranging from general communication delay, to cognitive delay, to Down syndrome — will have individualized goals that the staff will help them achieve.
Most children will attend two days per week, for a total of five hours per week, for a monthly cost of $349.
“Obviously they have to charge for it, which sucks, but it’s just nice to see them actually filling in a need that’s there, because it’s not there anymore after those (public preschool) cuts,” said O’connor.
The Regina Public School Division in spring 2017 decided to close its Discovery Preschool for children who have intensive needs, a casualty of provincial government budget cuts.
A year later, with federal government funding, the division announced a new pilot program offering 36 prekindergarten spaces for children who have intensive needs.
Because Lewis has autism, he qualifies for $4,000 in new provincial funding for support services, which will help cover his preschool tuition.
While a speech pathologist can cost up to $140 per hour, Kerri Kun said it was a “no-brainer” to enrol her almost-four-year-old daughter, who has speech apraxia — a motor speech disorder that garbles her words.
“We actually get seen by a speech path. twice a week and a teacher involved, so it’s a pretty similar cost for us. I wish there was funding,” said Kun.
More frequent intervention can only help, said Kun, who expects to see “a lot of improvement and a lot of growth” in her daughter.
“To have this available, this is huge — huge — for families. I think this is a game-changer for speechdelayed kids.”
As Kun does not live in Regina, she is not eligible for another new pilot program through the Regina Public School Division, a communication-based prekindergarten program at Henry Janzen School that will have up to 16 spots.