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As a part of our three-fold mandate, The Speech and Stuttering Institute engages in state of the art research to evaluate effective treatment methods. 

Research at The Speech and Stuttering Institute focuses on clinically relevant questions designed to shed light on best practices in the provision of Speech-Language Pathology Services for individuals with speech and stuttering disorders.  The Institute is well-placed to draw upon the expertise of its many experienced Speech-Language Pathologists in working with these client populations.  Clinicians at the Institute are currently leaders in Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services projects aimed at developing treatment approaches for children with motor speech and stuttering disorders.  Our approach to clinical research reflects a commitment to discovering the most effective treatment methods, in order to support both excellent clinical service and evidence-based professional training.

Research Award

Congratulations to the team who was awarded the “Excellence in Applied Research Award” at the SAC (Speech-Language and Audiology Canada) banquet on Friday, April 29, 2016.

The Motor Speech Research Study conducted at The Speech and Stuttering Institute has led to the development of a decision making pathway for identifying pre-school children with motor speech difficulties and determining who would benefit from more intensive motor based speech therapy.

This research study was conducted by a research team lead by principal investigator (PI) Dr. Aravind Namasivayam, Ph.D., S-LP (C) and several internationally recognized researchers and Speech-Language Pathologists (S-LPs). The study’s co-investigators included Dr. Robert Kroll (Executive Director, The Speech and Stuttering Institute, Toronto), Ms. Margit Pukonen (Clinical Program Director, The Speech and Stuttering Institute), Ms. Debra Goshulak (Senior S-LP; The Speech and Stuttering Institute), Dr. Pascal Van Lieshout (Professor & Chair, Department of Speech-language Pathology, University of Toronto), Dr. Ben Maassen (Professor, University of Groningen, The Netherlands), Dr. Toni Rietveld, Professor, Radboud University, The Netherlands) and Dr. Frank Rudzicz (Scientist, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute).

SAC award SAC pic