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After months of planning, Ana Maria Gonzalez Barrero was delighted to see the turnout at the spring luncheon marking the 50th anniversary of the Dalhousie School of Communication Sciences and Disorders (SCSD). She was even more delighted by the stories she heard about the school.

“It was really amazing to have so many people celebrating this achievement and sharing their memories with us,” says Gonzalez Barrero, an associate professor of speech-language pathology at the school. “The most moving part was the video testimonials from clients about the impact of the school in their lives. That’s the best feedback we can get—the knowledge that we’re making a difference.”

Celebrating 50 Years

The impact of SCSD was almost immediate when it welcomed its first cohort of 20 students in 1976. At the time, the closest educational program was in Montreal and there were only six audiologists and 25 speech-language pathologists serving Atlantic Canada. Since then, more than 1,300 clinicians have graduated from the school, many of whom have remained in the region, helping to meet the growing need for care.

Meeting a Critical Need

Many people in Atlantic Canada still do not have access to speech-language pathologists and audiologists. The school is helping to address that need through its clinics and a wide range of community programs.

Each year, faculty and staff conduct approximately 100 hearing assessments through the SCSD audiology clinic and fit and provide 150 new and refurbished hearing aids to eligible low-income individuals through the Hear@Dal initiative, supported by the Lions Club, Hearing and Speech Nova Scotia, and generous donors. Faculty and students also visit local schools to provide speech and language services and currently care for approximately 200 patients through a partnership with the Department of Opportunities and Social Development (DOSD).

“These are important partnerships for us,” says Michael Kiefte, director of the SCSD. “Our goal is to provide more direct services to underserved populations in the province. In doing that, we’re offering a formative experience for our students because they see the importance of providing services to people who otherwise would not receive them.”

Alumn, Keara Boyce speaks at a panel at the 50th SCSD gala luncheon.

Learning Through Service

The success of the partnership with DOSD recently led to the expansion of services through a remote clinic in Cape Breton. Mark Federkeil was among the students who participated in the first site visit, assisting SCSD faculty in fitting patients with hearing aids.

“The trip was foundational for our learning,” says Federkeil. “We gained so much insight into the technical side of things, such as hearing aid programming and troubleshooting, as well as the patient-care side of things, like interacting with patients and ensuring all their questions and concerns are answered. It was really rewarding, especially seeing the impact the hearing aids had on their lives.”

Research That Changes Lives

Research conducted by SCSD faculty, including Gonzalez Barrero, is also making a significant difference in the community. Through her work exploring language, literacy, and cognitive skills among children with conditions such as autism, she found that bilingualism and multilingualism are not detrimental to language development. The findings could have profound implications, particularly for families who have immigrated to Canada.

“Traditionally parents of these children have been advised to speak one language for interventions, so they choose the predominant societal language, such as English, which they may not be proficient in,” Gonzalez Barrero explains.

“Although we have more studies to do, experimental tasks have demonstrated that these children are flexible in their thinking so long as they are well supported. That means they maintain their heritage language while gaining all the benefits of bilingualism and multilingualism in their education and careers.”

Building a More Representative Profession

The potential impact of this research reflects another priority for Kiefte: increasing representation in the profession. He says the SCSD's unique three-year curriculum has helped the school admit outstanding students from a variety of academic backgrounds, while donor support is helping remove financial barriers.

“We've been successful in securing endowments for scholarships and bursaries for underrepresented groups,” he says. “That is vital because we need more clinicians from the Mi’kmaq and African Nova Scotian communities. And that increased focus is one of the biggest changes I’ve seen at the school over the past 25 years.”

Dr. Michael Herrick is helping the SCSD achieve that goal through the Lynda Campbell Memorial Bursary. Created in memory of his wife, an accomplished speech-language pathologist who provided crucial training and mentorship in the years before the school launched, the bursary supports students with financial need who are members of racialized groups.

“She was dedicated to helping people and I wanted to continue that,” says Dr. Herrick. “I also appreciate the work of the school and the development of the program. My hope is they continue to produce clinicians who see this as a career where they serve people in need and not as a job.”

Looking to the Future

Looking ahead, Kiefte is focused on increasing student supports, creating more hands-on learning opportunities, and expanding services to underserved communities across the region. Although he hesitates to predict what the school will look like when it celebrates its 100th anniversary, he is confident it will continue to thrive.

“I just hope that, when that time comes, people at the school will look back and say that we provided a strong foundation for their success,” he says.