Our Team

Co-Director/Owner

"I have been working in the field of Speech Language Pathology for over 35 years. My focus has been on services to students with severe speech and language delays age 3-6. In addition, I am passionate about working with students on the Autism spectrum and have seen great strides made in treatment approaches and long term success for these students. I have considerable experience providing coordination and treatment services through FSCD. In 1994 I co-founded this private practice and in 2007 I became the owner and director of Communication Options Inc. I am very proud of the quality of service that our team provides to the community."

Co-Director/Owner

"I am in my second year of working alongside Barbara Hitchcock as owner and director of Communication Options Inc. and loving every minute. I have such an appreciation for working with young people with speech and language delays as I truly believe all children have important messages to share!

I am especially passionate about working with parents to support the development of their own child's speech and language skills through daily routines and interactions. Watching the successes achieved by families has strengthened my desire to help create positive interactions for children through building parent skills."

"I have been working in the field of Speech Language Pathology for more than 20 years. My primary focus has been working with children, both in pre-school and school environments. I have a special interest in working with children with complex needs and have worked in the area of augmentative and alternative communication technology for the past 19 years. I have experience working directly with clients, their families and school teams." 

"I began working in the field of Speech-Language Pathology 19 years ago. I also have experience working as a Kindergarten teacher and have a diploma in early childhood development. In my career, my primary focus has been working with preschool age children, although I have experience working with children of all ages. I enjoy working directly with my clients as well as their families and school staff. I have special interests in Autism spectrum disorder, phonology, early language development, play based therapy, and childhood apraxia of speech."

"I have been working as a Speech Language Assistant for 18 years. For the past 13 years I have bee with Communication Options working under the direction of SLPs to provide therapy to student who are 3-5 years old with mild/moderate speech and language delays. It is a joy for me to work with the students and celebrate their successes with them. In addition, I support the management of the company in my role as Administrative Assistant."

 "I have been an SLP since 2010 and I love what I do. Collaborating with families and teachers to support the needs of children with communication challenges is something that I am very passionate about. Seeing the positive outcomes of our joint efforts is incredibly rewarding! I have a particular interest in the areas of preschool-aged stuttering, early language development and articulation/phonology. Supporting children as they become effective communicators is such a blessing!"

"My name is Jodilyn Thibodeau; I have been a practicing Speech-Language Pathologist since 2011 and with Communication Options since 2012. I specialize in providing therapy to individuals with communication delays/disorders from birth to early elementary years including family/parent/caregiver training. I strongly believe in the efficacy of early intervention and am passionate in providing, motivating, play-based therapy while targeting speech and language needs. I have received continued education in the areas of parent and teacher training with Hanen approaches for play-based intervention, social thinking ideologies applicable to those individuals with social challenges, and motor speech therapy principles for kiddos with Childhood Apraxia of Speech or profound speech sound disorders. I am happy supporting individuals with communication difficulties and their families - I feel great joy increasing their ability to communicate effectively!"

 "I have been practicing Speech Language Pathology for three years.  Prior to pursuing a career in speech and language, I received a Master of Music degree in opera performance and have performed in operas in Canada and Europe.  I was so excited to make the career change to SLP as these two professions marry so well together.  I am passionate about providing early intervention services to the 3-6 age population, especially those with severe speech sound needs.  Improving speech and language skills, and giving these young children a voice, is the best job in the world!

 "I obtained my degree in 2006 and moved to Canada in 2009. Since then, I have provided services in a variety of environments, from schools, to private practice, to hospital settings.  I have special interest in the area of tethered oral tissues (tongue tie) and early language development but truly love all things communication.  I feel privileged to provide services alongside this well rounded and accomplished team."

 "I moved to Alberta six years ago, at which time I started working as a Speech and Language Pathologist with children between the ages of 1 and 15.  I am passionate about helping children learn new speech and language skills so they can achieve academic success and also form more meaningful relationships throughout their life.  I have been with the Communication Options Inc. team for a three years now and am excited to continue working with children, their families, and their school team to support them in reaching their full communicative potential."

 "Hello! This will be my third year as a practicing Speech Language Pathologist. I have worked primarily with school aged children from grades 1 to 5 and have a special interest in working with children and young adults with complex needs. I am passionate about incorporating literacy skills, language strategies and alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) technology within the classroom. I am so excited to join the team at Communication Options and look forward to working with children, families and their school teams this year."

 
"I began working as a Speech Language Pathologist nine years ago.  I have had the opportunity to work with pre-school and school aged children in Central Alberta and Vancouver.  I have also worked as a pre-kindergarten teacher.  I enjoy working with families and school staff to support children to improve their communication skills.  I am interested in using play and motivating activities to help children to reach the next step in their speech and language skills."