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Your Story Matters

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As part of Speech & Hearing Month this May, Speech-Language & Audiology Canada (SAC) is creating a series of digital collateral to highlight the scope of practice and impact of speech-language pathologists and audiologists.

To bring these to life, we are looking for short, impactful patient testimonials that showcase how these professionals have helped improve lives.

We are looking for testimonials that highlight the necessity and impact of these services—whether it’s helping a child find their voice, supporting an adult in regaining communication after a stroke, or improving someone’s ability to hear and engage with the world around them.

All testimonials will be anonymous.

We encourage our members to share this with their network.

Thank you for your time and support in helping us raise awareness of the critical role these professionals play in communication health.

Share your story here.

2024-2025 SAC Student Scholarship Cycle One Recipients

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We are thrilled to announce the Cycle 1 recipients of the 2024-2025 SAC Scholarships! Congratulations to these 20 student associates for their outstanding achievements and dedication to their programs. As future audiologists and speech-language pathologists, they have demonstrated the spirit of excellence, leadership, and community service that SAC deeply values.

Thank you to the Elks of Canada, Maria Scaringi of KIDSPEECHTM and The Beach Family for their continued and generous support. We also extend our sincere appreciation to the members of our Scholarship Committee for their considerable time and dedication invested in enhancing the Scholarship program.

Once again, we extend our heartfelt congratulations to all recipients and wish them continued success in their academic and professional careers.

Elks and Purple Fund for Children Scholarships

William J. Blake Scholarship $2,000
Meriem El Attar
Laurentian University
Speech-Language Pathology
Susan Lane Scholarship $2,000
Ye-In Jung
University of Alberta
Speech-Language Pathology
Deborah Kully Scholarship $2,000
Sewit Tewelde
University of Toronto
Speech-Language Pathology
Gordon Leslie Memorial Scholarship $1,000 each
Jenna Beaudin
Western University
Speech-Language Pathology 		Hannah Bitz
University of Alberta
Speech-Language Pathology
Keza Cover
University of Alberta
Speech-Language Pathology 		Elena Gamm
McMaster University
Speech-Language Pathology
Emma Hancock
University of British Columbia
Speech-Language Pathology 		Megan Krone
University of Alberta
Speech-Language Pathology
Nicole McRorie
University of Alberta
Speech-Language Pathology 		Tran Kha-Vy Nguyen
University of Ottawa
Audiology
Camila Pereyra
McMaster University
Speech-Language Pathology 		Jelena Stakic
University of Toronto
Speech-Language Pathology

KIDSPEECH Scholarships

KIDSPEECH
KIDSPEECH Leadership Scholarship $1,000
Minseo Kim
University of Toronto
Speech-Language Pathology

SAC Scholarships

SAC Research Scholarships $1,000 each
Frank Day
Dalhousie University
Speech-Language Pathology 		Diana Figliomeni
McMaster University
Speech-Language Pathology
Audiology Leadership Scholarship $1,000
Jana Bataineh
Western University
Audiology
Isabel Richard Scholarships $1,000 each
Leyla Barber
Dalhousie University
Speech-Language Pathology 		Kyra Pocsai
University of Melbourne
Speech-Language Pathology
Melissa Hazen
University of Toronto
Audiology

Health Canada Approves Apple AirPods Pro Firmware Module upgrades: Implications for Hearing Health

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January 17, 2025 — Health Canada has approved Apple’s AirPods Pro Firmware Module and Hearing Aid Feature iPhone App by issuing Class II medical device licences. Together, these features enable Apple AirPods to function as over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids by providing person-specific amplified sound based on a user-controlled in-app hearing test, with the option to upload an audiogram. Notably, this functionality bypasses the need for involvement from an audiologist. 

While these approvals confirm the devices meet manufacturing standards, Health Canada’s evaluation does not include a rigorous assessment of key functional specifications, including power output. 

Currently, Canada lacks specific federal regulations for OTC hearing aids.  In correspondence with other stakeholders, Medical Devices Directorate staff stated, “Access to medical devices is overseen by the provinces and territories in Canada,” indicating no plans for federal oversight specific to OTC hearing aids.  This regulatory gap highlights the need for rigorous evaluation of functional safety and performance—not just adherence to manufacturing standards. 

Although Health Canada has issued Class II medical device licenses for these features, Apple has not yet fully rolled out the software across all provinces and territories. According to Apple experts, the company is following all legal proceedings and requirements specific to each province and territory. 

SAC will continue to advocate for proper regulatory measures to ensure the quality and safety of OTC hearing aids. We strongly encourage consumers to consult with audiologists to better understand their specific hearing needs and make informed choices about their hearing health. Audiologists are essential in safeguarding hearing health by providing expert assessments, tailored recommendations, and ongoing support.

Learn about Auracast™ by Ampetronic

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About Auracast™ broadcast audio

Auracast™ broadcast audio is a new Bluetooth® capability that allows transmission from one to many. By broadcasting to many, it has the potential to provide an assistive listening system (ALS) for people with hearing loss, and those with other disabilities, such as autism, low vision, auditory processing disorders, ADHD, cerebral palsy, etc.

Auracast broadcast audio can be used in two very different ways:

  • Auracast broadcast audio for Audio Sharing (no live sound).
    • Examples: Sports bar TVs and personal sharing audio. Audio sharing transmits from one smartphone or laptop computer to multiple Auracast-compatible wireless earbuds, with friends and family.
  • Auracast streamed Assistive Listening (AL)* (live sound).
    • Examples: theaters, lectures, and meetings, which stream to multiple users.

Learn more.

Hearing Loss and Diabetes with Christine Meston

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SAC member Christine Meston, Ph.D., Reg. CASLPO., Assistant Professor in the School of Communications Sciences and Disorders at Western University, spoke in an interview in the Diabetes Canada Healthcare Huddle series. The discussion focused on identifying and supporting people with diabetes and hearing loss.

Listen to Dr. Meston here.

Health Canada Approves Apple Air Pods Hearing Test Features

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On December 11, 2024, Health Canada issued Class II medical device licences for the following Apple features:

  • Air Pods Pro Firmware Module (Device Identifier: 0019549149931)
  • Hearing Aid Feature iPhone App (Device Identifier: 00195949149924)

Global BC Medical Contributor Dr. Birinder Narang explained the capabilities of these features for Canadians. Watch more.

SAC will soon present a new position paper Role of Canadian Audiologists in Supporting OTC Hearing Aids. In the meantime, SAC’s official statement regarding the FDA’s final rule for OTC Hearing Aids is a useful resource.

Introducing SAC’s new Chief Executive Officer Luciana Nechita

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Dear Colleagues,

On behalf of the Board of Directors, it is my great pleasure to introduce SAC’s new Chief Executive Officer Luciana Nechita. Luciana brings a dynamic blend of leadership, vision, and passion for the non-profit sector, making her an excellent choice to lead SAC into its next chapter. With nearly 20 years of experience in non-profit leadership, Luciana has a proven track record of transforming organizations, driving member engagement, and advocating for professionals.

In her most recent role as the Executive Director of the Canadian Association for Interventional Radiology, Luciana successfully led strategic growth initiatives, transitioned the organization to virtual programming during the pandemic, and championed national and international partner engagement, advocacy and awareness campaigns that elevated the profile of interventional radiology. Her expertise in strategic leadership, financial management, and member and partner-driven initiatives will be invaluable as SAC continues to grow and innovate.

Luciana is committed to fostering a collaborative and inclusive culture within SAC, enhancing member value, and strengthening SAC’s advocacy efforts to ensure our professions are recognized and supported across Canada.

The Board is confident that Luciana’s leadership—marked by empathy, humour, and a focus on building strong relationships—will resonate with SAC’s members, staff, and partners. She brings not only extensive expertise, but also an infectious enthusiasm for advancing SAC’s mission and making a meaningful impact on the lives of Canadians.

The Board would also like to take this opportunity to thank Eva Salwecki, who served as SAC’s interim CEO from June to November 2024. During this time, Eva worked with SAC staff, partners, and the Board of Directors to help ensure the continuity of SAC’s important work.

Please join me warmly welcoming Luciana to SAC and sending best wishes to Eva for her future endeavors!

Susan J. Wagner, B.Sc. (SPA), M.Sc.(CD), S-LP(C), Reg. CASLPO
Chair, Speech-Language & Audiology Canada

NDN Collective Announces 2024/26 NDN Changemaker Fellowship Cohort

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This article originates from this NDN Collective press release on November 21, 2024.

These 21 NDN Changemakers are Indigenous organizers, activists, social entrepreneurs and cultural practitioners throughout Turtle Island and beyond who are challenging the status quo and building a better future for all people and Mother Earth.

Rapid City, SD – Today, NDN Collective announces the 2024/26 NDN Changemaker Fellowship Cohort, a two-year fellowship consisting of 21 Indigenous leaders from throughout Turtle Island and beyond who are radically transforming Indigenous communities by defending Indigenous lands, waters, and rights; developing solutions for the future that regenerate the health of the Earth and our communities; and revitalizing our languages, governance practices, ceremonies, and ways of life. They are organizers, activists, social entrepreneurs and cultural practitioners who are challenging the status quo and building a better future for all people and Mother Earth.

“Although this is our fifth year offering the Changemaker Fellowship opportunity, this year marks the first time that NDN is conducting the Fellowship over a two-year time period,” said Serene Lawrence, Program Officer at NDN Collective. “By increasing our investment in the wellness and growth of Indigenous community members, our hope is that these individuals, their families and their communities will feel a greater scope of impact as a result of NDN’s support.”

Each fellow was uplifted and selected by grassroots members of their region in a process which involved nearly 500 applicants from 21 different regions across the colonial nation-states of Canada, Mexico and the U.S. including its surrounding Island nations.

“Learning about the many amazing changemakers throughout Turtle Island and Island Nations has been an incredible experience. Each application added a vibrant color to the future Indigenous leaders are building with their communities,” said Helen Aldana, Program Officer at NDN Collective. “We are honored to be a part of the 2024 – 2026 Changemakers’ journey as they take this time to invest in their personal and professional development to grow into the leaders they envision being for their community, their ancestors past and future, and Mother Earth.”

2024/26 NDN Changemaker Fellows

  • Yazmín Novelo (Pueblo Maya Yucateco)
  • Shelly Boyd (Sinixt/Arrow Lakes Colville Confederated Tribes)
  • Rosalía Pablo Juárez (Pueblo Triqui)
  • Octavio Domínguez Rosas (Indígena nahua)
  • Ivy Richardson (Quatsino First Nation)
  • Guadalupe Tzopitl Montalvo (indígena nawa)
  • Elvia Villani Catalán (Me´phaa)
  • Brook Thompson (Yurok & Karuk)
  • Bibi Naniki Reyes Ocasio (Boricua Original Peoples of Boriken, Taino)
  • Angelina Garcia (Xicana/Caxcan)
  • Amy Stiffarm (Aaniiih (Whiteclay), Chippewa Cree, Blackfeet)
  • Ayyu Qassataq (Iñupiaq, Yup’ik and adopted Lingit)
  • Breanna Lameman (Diné)
  • Demian Lawrenchuk (Inniniw (swampy Cree))
  • Diana Ooleepeeka Neill-Anawak (Inuk, Nunavut Land Claim (Inuit Nunangat)
  • Elisha Ieshontenhawe King (Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk)- Akwesasne)
  • Emma Perez (Chamorro of the Mariana Islands)
  • Imaikalani Winchester (Kanaka Maoli)
  • Kwahará:ni Jacobs (Registered Mohawk of Kahnawà:ke)
  • Rosa King (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin)
  • Kawennahente Toni Cook (Akwesasne Mohawk)

$8.1 million for first of their kind health care training programs in Saskatchewan

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This article originally appeared on the Government of Saskatchewan website on June 14, 2024.

Saskatchewan students will soon have more opportunities to train at home through two new domestic health care programs. In 2024-25, the Government of Saskatchewan is investing approximately $8.1 million to establish the Occupational Therapy Program and Speech Language Pathology Training Program at the University of Saskatchewan (USask).

“Our post-secondary institutions play key roles in helping address provincial labour market needs and achieving our Growth Plan goals,” Advanced Education Minister Colleen Young said. “Establishing these programs in-province will give more students the opportunity to train closer to home and make it easier to retain our grads here in Saskatchewan.”

“As we were meeting with frontline health care providers, our government heard concerns that these professions were in high demand and that we needed to do more to attract and retain students,” Health Minister Everett Hindley said. “A key pillar of our Health Human Resources Action Plan is to create training opportunities here at home for Saskatchewan students passionate about a career in health care while encouraging them to choose to live and work in the province after graduation.”

Each of the new training programs will be a two-year Masters program that will accept up to 40 students per year. The programs are targeted to begin in the Fall of 2026. Until then, students from Saskatchewan can continue to access reserved seats in Occupational Therapy and Speech Language Pathology in Alberta through the government’s interprovincial agreement programs (IPAs) which were established in 2020 to help the province meet its need for specialized health professionals.

“We appreciate the provincial government’s investment in developing innovative speech language pathology and occupational therapy programs at the University of Saskatchewan (USask),” University of Saskatchewan President Peter Stoicheff said. “These programs will expand USask’s ability to train health professionals, whose skills are in high-demand and whose contributions will improve the quality of life across Saskatchewan.”

Occupational Therapists and Speech Language Pathologists provide vital health services to communities throughout the province, including children, seniors, and people with disabilities, injuries or illnesses. Under these new programs at USask, students will undertake clinical placements as early as their first year of studies, which will place more professionals into the health care sector sooner.

“The opening of this speech-language pathology program at the University of Saskatchewan heralds a new era in practice for our province,” Speech-Language & Audiology Canada Provincial Advocacy Manager and Interim Director of Speech-Language Pathology Jennifer Cameron-Turley said. “It is fitting that this announcement is happening shortly after Speech and Hearing Month, as it helps us continue to bring increased awareness to the profound impact of communication and swallowing disorders can have on people’s lives. We look forward to continuing to foster connection, and champion the transformative power of communication for the people of Saskatchewan.”

“The creation of this occupational therapy program at USask will address the long-standing provincial shortage of OTs and allow for greater access to critical occupational therapy services that serve Saskatchewan’s population needs, including primary care access, mental health support and management of chronic conditions,” Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists’ Saskatchewan Chapter (CAOT-SK) Regional Director Christine Fleming said.

In addition to these new programs, the government is also investing $2 million in the development of a Physician Assistant program at the University of Saskatchewan that is scheduled to begin in the Fall of 2025. Physician Assistants will help support physicians and increase access to primary care services throughout the province.

Expanding health training is a key deliverable of the government’s Health Human Resources Action Plan, which has the goal to help build a stronger, more robust health care workforce to meet the needs of Saskatchewan’s communities now and in the future.

To learn more about health care training options in Saskatchewan, visit saskatchewan.ca/hhr-train.

More Than One Third of Canadian Infants Do Not Have Access to Sufficient Infant Hearing Health Care Services

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OTTAWA, May 28, 2024 – Seven out of 13 Canadian provinces/territories do not provide sufficient infant hearing health care. As a result, health inequities exist for more than one third of Canadian infants which impact their development and education. The 2024 National Report Card from the Canadian Infant Hearing Task Force (CIHTF) reveals that little has changed since its 2019 Report Card. Once again, Canada receives an overall grade of “Insufficient” when it comes to providing infant hearing health services through Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs. Canadian audiologists and researchers are urging decision-makers at all levels to prioritize infant hearing health care.

“Every child in Canada deserves access to timely and high-quality hearing health services. Your postal code must not determine whether you and your child have access to early hearing health care within a comprehensive EHDI program,” says Marlene Bagatto, AuD, PhD, Audiologist and Professor at Western University who led the development of the Report Card. “The disparity in availability of hearing health care for Canadians must end. It is time for the federal government to take a policy leadership role and provide guidance and resources to provinces and territories. Too little progress has been made since we have brought this to their attention. Ten years later, Canada’s overall grade remains insufficient and health care inequity for Canadian babies remains.”

The CIHTF is calling on the federal government to establish and implement national hearing health care guidelines for children. These guidelines would serve as a policy roadmap for provinces and territories, drawing on best practices in areas that currently provide successful and sustainable EHDI programs. The universal screening, assessment, and support services provided to infants born with hearing loss are not experimental. Evidence-based policies and procedures exist and can be modified for national implementation. What is required is the will to improve infant hearing health care service availability across Canada.

The CIHTF is pleased to report that the provinces and territories with “Sufficient” EHDI programs in 2019 have sustained them for the past five years. Of note also, there has been progress in some provinces and territories that are graded “Insufficient”. For instance, an external consultant reviewed New Brunswick’s infant hearing health services and provided actionable recommendations. In Prince Edward Island, clinical protocols are being developed for implementation. Several insufficient regions such as New Brunswick, Nunavut, and Saskatchewan have implemented newborn screening for congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV), the leading cause of non-genetic hearing loss in newborns.

Although there have been improvements, the CIHTF is disappointed to report that more than half of the provinces and territories in Canada continue to have an insufficient grade.

The grades in the 2024 EHDI Report Card were based on whether all five components of an EHDI program are available province- or territory-wide.

“It is important to remember that universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) is only one component of a comprehensive EHDI program,” explains Dr. Bagatto. “Along with screening all babies at birth, a comprehensive and effective EHDI program must include a hearing assessment to confirm the presence or absence of permanent hearing loss, services that involve technology such as hearing aids (if the family chooses) and language development, family support as well as monitoring and evaluation of the program. While high-quality pediatric audiology services are available in Canada, access to and availability of coordinated services within the broader health care system remains absent in many regions.”

Knowing about a child’s hearing is critical to support families in making communication and educational decisions for their child. Healthy hearing and communication development have important implications for brain development, learning, behaviour, personal and social relationships, and overall well-being. The most critical time for learning language is from birth to 2 years of age. The earlier a baby’s hearing loss is detected, the sooner language development supports can be put in place to help a child learn language—whether it’s spoken, signed, or both—and communicate with the world around them.

The CIHTF is determined to change the status quo. “We will continue to advocate for comprehensive infant hearing health services across Canada so that all Canadian children and their families have access to comprehensive early hearing health care,” says Dr. Bagatto. “We are now calling on the federal government to take action and establish and implement national guidelines.”

The Canadian Infant Hearing Task Force is a national group of leaders and experts in matters related to early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI), formed to promote, support, and advocate for comprehensive universal EHDI programs in all Canadian provinces and territories. The group is a joint effort of the Canadian Academy of Audiology (CAA) and Speech-Language & Audiology Canada (SAC).

Media Inquiries

Eve Clancy

Manager of Communications and Marketing
Speech-Language & Audiology Canada

Email: eve@sac-oac.ca

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