Early Words
Our Partners
Preschool Speech & Language Initiative
There are seven partner agencies that comprise the Hamilton Preschool Speech and Language Service/Service d’orthophonie de Hamilton pour les enfants d’âge préscolaire. It is through the ongoing co-operation of these agencies that a single service can exist and provide responsive,
family-centred care.
Affiliated Services for Children and Youth (ASCY)
ASCY’s mandate is to support parents, home based caregivers, resource teachers, recreation professionals and educators of children from preschool to adolescence. ASCY provides a comprehensive and diverse range of quality services that support the well being of children and youth in the city of Hamilton.
McMaster Children’s Hospital (MCH)
MCH provides speech and language services to young children who are part of MCH multidisciplinary teams as well to preschool children who have speech and language needs exclusively. A broad range of communication services is offered on an inpatient and community basis.
St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (SJHH)
St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (SJHH) is a partner agency within Early Words. Services for children with primarily speech and language needs are offered at St. Joseph’s Hospital (SJH) and at the Centre for Ambulatory Health Services (CAHS). Speech Language Pathologists and a Communicative Disorders Assistant deliver the clinical services. Audiology services are offered as a component of the Early Words intake process at both sites. Consultation by a Social Worker is available at CAHS. Volunteers play a role in supporting the clinical staff. SJHH also offers placements for learners from Speech Language Pathology and Communicative Disorders Assistant programs.
Integration Resources HUB
HUB is a group of community agencies working together to provide a coordinated response to preschool children with special needs, their families and the child care programs they attend. HUB participants include Community Living Hamilton: Child Development Centre, Hamilton and District Council of Cooperative Preschools Corporation: Integration Program, McMaster Children’s Hospital: Chedoke Campus, City of Hamilton – Red Hill Family Centre, and St. Matthew’s House: Early Childhood Integration Support Services. We believe that integrated programs provide the best opportunity for children with special needs to play, to grow and to learn in a social environment with their peers. Integration involves creating and/or changing environments to meet the unique needs of each individual child. Integration allows for all children to be included and valued.
Hamilton Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB)
The Communication Services Team at the HWDSB provides assessment, consultation and remedial services to students having communication difficulties. Services are provided in partnership with parents, school staff and outside agencies. These services include but are not limited to: screening, formal assessment, classroom consultation for individual programming, referral to outside agencies, participation at school meetings ans participation at Identification Placement and Review Committee meetings. The team consists of Speech Language Pathologist, Communicative Disorders Assistants, teachers, and educational assistants. Each school is assigned a Speech Language Pathologist. Also, each school has access to two specialized teams: Autism Spectrum Disorders Team, and Alternative/Augmentative Communication Team.
Hamilton Wentworth Catholic District School Board (HWCDSB)
The HWCDSB Speech, Language and Hearing Department follows a consultative model of service delivery. The student may receive a full speech and language assessment and/or a consultation as is appropriate based on referral information.
Community Care Access Centre (CCAC)
The CCAC provides School Health Support Services to children attending a publicly funded school, private school, or home school in Hamilton, who have an Ontario Health Card, and require special health services at school.