Services
Supporting the People Around the Child
Children thrive when the adults around them share a deeper understanding of their needs, strengths, communication styles, and ways of experiencing the world.
Drawing on my speech-language pathology and school experience, I help adults support children's communication, learning access, and participation through everyday strategies. We work in focused virtual packages with agreed meetings, a budget, and a clear endpoint.
My current service is consultation rather than ongoing direct therapy or comprehensive assessment. When those services would help, I can explain the recommendations and suggest professionals you can contact.
Start a Conversation
When consultation may help
- You have recommendations from an assessment but need help putting them into practice.
- Your child or teenager is reluctant to attend therapy, and you want to explore ways to support communication through everyday interactions.
- Your school team is ready to try strategies but would benefit from explanation, demonstration, and a chance to discuss what happens.
- You want an experienced SLP’s perspective on a particular communication or participation concern before deciding what to do next.
The Exceptional Approach
Turning Recommendations Into Everyday Practice
"The value of a recommendation isn't in the report.
It's in what happens next."
The Challenge
Excellent recommendations can lose momentum
Schools invest in assessments because they want children to receive the right support.
The recommendations are thoughtful. Everyone wants to help.
But implementation is often the hardest part.
Competing priorities, changing staff, limited time, and multiple professionals can make even excellent recommendations difficult to translate into everyday practice.
Not because people don't care.
Because people need practical strategies, clear roles, and time to try things out.
My Role
Turning recommendations into confident action
I help schools turn recommendations into a focused plan they can put into practice. We agree on the priorities, meetings, and timeframe for each consultation package.
Together we:
- Agree on specific communication and participation priorities for our consultation.
- Translate assessment findings into practical strategies.
- Support the adults implementing those strategies.
- Review what your team has tried and refine strategies within the package.
Working Together
Your team puts the plan into practice
Consultation works best when parents, educators, or other adults in the child's life have the time and willingness to try strategies and share what they notice. I teach and demonstrate everyday strategies; parents and educators use them within their own roles. We review observations together during the agreed meetings.
Where direct clinical treatment is needed, I can provide a detailed summary of recommendations and suggest clinicians you can contact, including about waiting lists. Treatment is provided by an appropriately qualified clinician who takes responsibility for that work; it is not assigned to parents or educators through this consultation.
Each package has a clear endpoint. If new priorities emerge later, we can discuss another focused engagement, subject to availability.
Your Starting Point
The Exceptional Approach
Ready to take the next step?
If this approach resonates, let's talk
Whether you're a school leader, a family member, or part of a team, I'd welcome the chance to learn about your situation and explore how we can work together.
Start a ConversationSchool Consultation
Practical Communication Strategies for Your School Team
Independent schools and educational organizations often have dedicated educators and support teams who want to meet the needs of neurodivergent learners.
My school experience informs practical guidance on communication, access to learning, and classroom participation. We explore strategies that educators can use within their everyday roles.
I support schools by helping teams:
- Better understand student communication profiles
- Develop practical classroom strategies
- Support educators and educational assistants
- Improve collaboration between professionals
- Create more consistent approaches across environments
Areas of support may include:
Team Consultation
Connecting Perspectives and Creating Shared Understanding
Children are often supported by many caring adults. Educators, clinicians, families, and specialists each bring valuable perspectives. The challenge is often connecting those perspectives into a shared understanding. With appropriate consent, I welcome and recommend collaboration with the professionals already involved. I contribute my communication expertise to shared decisions; each professional remains responsible for their own work. The family and team agree on wider priorities and who will coordinate activities.
I help teams:
- Explore communication needs behind difficult interactions
- Understand barriers to communication, learning access, and participation
- Translate assessment information into practical strategies
- Develop shared language and goals
- Identify environmental supports
The goal is not to add more complexity.
The goal is to create greater clarity and collaboration.
Parent Consultation
Helping Families Better Understand Their Child
Families often receive information from many different sources. Navigating recommendations, assessments, educational supports, and different perspectives can feel overwhelming.
I support families by helping them:
- Understand their child's communication and learning profile
- Recognize strengths alongside challenges
- Identify practical strategies
- Make informed decisions about next steps
The goal is not to provide a one-size-fits-all solution.
It is to help families understand their child more deeply and confidently support their development.
Professional Development & Workshops
Building Understanding Through Education
Through virtual presentations and workshops informed by my school experience, I help teams understand communication differences and explore practical ways to support learning access and participation.
Potential topics include:
How We Work
A consistent framework for meaningful change
Every child, family, and school is unique. We agree on a focused consultation package with clear priorities, a set number of meetings, and an endpoint. All meetings are virtual, connecting my guidance with the people supporting the child in everyday life.
Agree on a Focus
Start With What Matters
Agree on a Focus
Start With What Matters
Choose a specific communication or participation concern together.
With appropriate consent, we may review existing reports and shared videos, discuss observations, and meet virtually with family members or professionals involved. My school experience helps connect communication needs with learning access and everyday participation.
The child's needs and preferences, family priorities, and team perspectives guide the focus, meetings, budget, and endpoint we agree on.
Learn & Try Strategies
Practical Guidance
Learn & Try Strategies
Practical Guidance
Build everyday strategies that fit the people and setting.
I explain and demonstrate approaches parents and educators can use within their own roles, such as adapting instructions, supporting conversations, and helping a child participate. We consider both changes to the environment and useful skills for the child.
This consultation helps adults use everyday strategies; it does not assign them clinical treatment. When direct treatment is needed, I recommend care from an appropriately qualified clinician.
Observe & Refine
Learn From Everyday Experience
Observe & Refine
Learn From Everyday Experience
Use agreed meetings to review what happens in practice.
Adults try the strategies between meetings and share what they notice. We may review observations or shared videos, discuss what is helping, and troubleshoot within the agreed consultation.
With appropriate consent, I welcome contributions from other professionals. Each brings their own expertise and remains responsible for their work.
Clarify What Works
Confidence & Limits
Clarify What Works
Confidence & Limits
Record what adults can use confidently and when further advice may help.
We identify useful strategies, the situations they fit, their limits, and signs that a different approach or professional input would be helpful.
If assessment or direct treatment is recommended, I can provide a detailed summary and suggest clinicians you can contact. Families arrange appointments or waiting-list enquiries with those providers.
Review & Finish
A Clear Endpoint
Review & Finish
A Clear Endpoint
Close the consultation with a practical summary and clear next steps.
At our final review, we bring together what we have learned and the strategies and resources you can take forward. Scheduled meetings and review finish at the agreed endpoint.
You can keep the materials provided during your package. If you would like further consultation later, we can discuss a separate package, subject to availability.
Fees & Packages
What you take away
Depending on our agreed focus, your package may include a review of relevant information, virtual consultation meetings, demonstrations and practical resources, and a written summary of strategies and next steps.
We agree on what is included before beginning. The consultation ends with a review of what has been useful, what you can continue independently, and whether other professional input would help.
Consultation: $250 CAD per hour
We agree on the focus, number of meetings, timeframe, and total budget before beginning. Professional time includes meetings and the preparation, review of information, resource development, and follow-up agreed for your package.
Once your package is arranged, you can choose meeting times from my available schedule. The package finishes at the agreed endpoint, with resources you can continue to use. Further consultation can be arranged as a separate package, subject to availability.
What People Say
Trusted by Families & Schools
Selected excerpts from Google reviews of my past work with families and school teams. These reflect that experience; the consultation packages described here are my current offer.
"His willingness to explore possibilities, discuss issues and strategies with us and our son's school team has paid off tremendously."
Pam Mendoza
"James also takes the time to explain to us how to support our son at home which is very helpful."
Maryam Mahanian
Start a Conversation
Every child deserves to be understood
If you are looking for guidance, collaboration, or support, I would welcome the opportunity to learn more about your situation.
James Burden, M.Sc.
Registered Speech-Language Pathologist
British Columbia
Email James directly
Send a brief note about the guidance you are looking for, and we can discuss whether a focused consultation would be a good fit.
jburdenRSLP@gmail.comThe button opens your email app. You can also copy the address into your preferred email service.
Please keep your first message brief and hold detailed reports or sensitive information until we arrange how to share them.
