Visiting Professionals
AHA contracts several highly trained professionals in the fields of physiotherapy, occupational therapy, dietetics, speech language pathology & autism services. These skilled individuals visit the basin monthly to provide essential services to the community members within the Athabasca Basin. Autism Services also provides an additional 40 hours of support each month from outside the Basin.
Our focus is one-on-one client/family sessions or assessments, however these professionals have extended their services to include other community focused projects such as workshops, education sessions, or resource development.
Our Current Team:
|
Joleen
Prystupa (PT) |
Stephanie Bearman (RD)
|
(SLP) Currently Vacant |
To make an appointment:
Adults - Call/visit your local clinic & ask for a referral in AHA's EMR or email the professional directly.
Physiotherapy (PT)
A university trained healthcare professional who helps your body move better & with less pain. They combine in-depth knowledge of how the body works with specialized hands-on clinical skills to assess, diagnose & treat symptoms of illness injury or disability.
Physiotherapy can help you:
- become stronger and more flexible
- increase freedom of movement & mobility
- breathe easier
- reduce pain
- stay active
- prevent injury
A physiotherapist treatment plan will involve an exercise program to help you work towards strengthening & healing.
Occupational Therapy (OT)Occupational therapy (OT) is a health profession that empowers people of all ages to overcome barriers in their everyday lives so they can do more and live better.
What is occupational therapy?
People experience life to the fullest through the things they enjoy doing everyday – at work, in school, in their homes, or out in their communities.
Occupational therapy, or OT for short, is a health profession that helps you or your family member develop the skills needed for day-to-day activities when these abilities have been hampered by injury. Illness, chronic disease, mental health issues, developmental delays, learning problems, the impacts of getting older or other health factors.
How can an OT Help?
Together, you and your OT will find solutions that will enable you to:
- Maintain function so you can continue to live independently or with minimal support in your home and prevent injuries and complications.
- Regain skills after an illness or inury so you can go back to your usual activities at work, home, or school.
- Develop new skills when illness, disability, learning problems or other health issues interfere with normal skills development.
- Enable the person you’re caring for to do as much as they can safely do for themselves.
The OT approach
OTs use a number of approaches to help meet your needs, including:
- Therapy programs for physical, cognitive, behavioural, or mental health problems.
- Introducing alternative ways of doing things.
- Modifying your environment with accessible design and ergonomic solutions.
- Prescribing assistive devices.
- Consulting with families or caregivers.
While enabling you to do as much as you can for yourself, OTs can help you navigate the health system and the variety of community supports, services, and resources that may be accessible to you.
Helping you do what you need and want to do…OTs are your best champion!
Speech Language Pathology (SLP)
What is a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP)?
An SLP is a communication specialist who works with people from every age group (babies to adults) in the prevention, identification, diagnosis, and treatment of many types of communication and swallowing problems:
-
Articulation: speech sounds. How we say sounds and put them together to say words.
-
Language:
-
Expressive language: how we use words to communicate our wants, needs and what we are thinking
-
Receptive language: how well we understand what others say
-
Social communication: how well we understand and follow the social rules (e.g. taking turns while speaking, different topics for different groups of people, where to stand when we are speaking to someone, etc).
-
Voice: how we sound when we speak (e.g. speak too loudly, lose voice often, hoarse sounding voice, speaking through the nose, etc)
-
Fluency: the rate and flow of speech. Also called
stuttering. Some stuttering/dis fluent speech is normal, especially in young children as they are learning lots of new language.
-
Feeding and swallowing: swallowing disorders can lead to health problems including lung infections, weight loss, poor nutrition, failure to thrive in babies, etc. An SLP can assess if an individual has adequate control over sucking, chewing, and swallowing food and liquid.
If you or someone you know is having difficulty in any of these areas, please speak with someone at your local clinic so a referral can be made.
A doctor's note is not necessary for a referral.
Early intervention is key for later success. Even if you are unsure about your child's speech and/or language development, do not hesitate to self-refer. The SLP can answer any questions or concerns you may have and decide if intervention is appropriate.
We recognize the vital role parents/caregivers play in their child's development, so all treatment plans are
family centred and require the participation of the child's caregiver to practice with the therapist's instructions.
Registered Dietitian (RD)
A Registered Dietitian is a university trained health care professional who is an expert in human nutrition and specializes in translating this knowledge to others with varying nutritional needs.
What to expect:
The dietitian will begin your appointment with an assessment of your lifestyle and food choices, along with a discussion about what you are hoping to learn or gain from the appointment. The appointment will be tailored to your interest and knowledge level, and will only last as long as you would like it to.
After the initial assessment, you and the dietitian will work together to create goals and an action plan to best fit your life and nutrition needs. Your progress will be monitored, and follow-up appointments with the dietitian can always be scheduled.
How can a dietitian help?
A dietitian can help you better understand the health condition you are experiencing, and work with you to recommend relevant and manageable lifestyle changes.
What does a dietitian offer?
A dietitian offers help with a variety of nutrition concerns including:
-
prediabetes
- type 1 and type 2 diabetes
- heart disease
- high cholesterol
- kidney disease
- liver disease
- nutrition in cancer
- nutrition in pregnancy
- food allergies and intolerances
- unwanted weight loss or gain
- mindful eating
- eating disorders
When to see a dietitian?
You could benefit from a dietitian if you have any questions about food and nutrition, or are confused about what foods you should be eating to acheive or maintain good health.
What is autism? Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication.
The Behaviour/Autism Consultant focuses is on maximizing a child's engagement, achievement, and independence.
The consultant can:
-
Screen: Children for Autism Spectrum Disorder
-
Support: Families, schools, & community organizations. Through:
- At home support using evidence-based and proactive based strategies.
- Transition Planning
- Goal Setting
-
Provide: Resources & materials for in home, in school and in community
-
Educate: Through presentations & workshops specific to community needs
Clinic, home and school visits are available.