From left to right – Ada Ko, Kevin Lee, and Dr. May Bernhardt Speech-language pathologists and former UBC graduates Bosko Radanov and Riley Rosebush
When May Bernhardt first met Kevin Lee, she saw something in him that others didn’t.
“He had only a couple of signs, and a few speech sounds,” recalls Dr. Bernhardt, a speech language pathologist and professor at UBC’s School of Audiology and Speech Sciences. “But I could see the language in him because he could combine signs for meaning.”
In 1988, at four-years old, unlike most children his age, Kevin remained unable to form words.
Over the next 13 years, Dr. Bernhardt, through the support of At Home Services, would go on to provide private speech and language services to Kevin. But despite challenges overcome and victories made, at the age of 19, Kevin’s parents grew concerned about the future: with the public school years coming to an end, they feared speech-language pathology services and support for their soon-to-be adult son would wane.
Recognizing there were others in similar circumstances, and at the persistence of Kevin’s parents, Ada Ko and Leonard Lee, Dr. Bernhardt looked to build a network for young adults with a shared history of developmental delay associated with speech, language, and literacy difficulties. And in 2004, together with fellow speech-language pathologist and former UBC grad Robyn Church, Dr. Bernhardt launched the Advancing Language and Literacy (ALL) Group.
Over the years, the program — which runs 10 months of the year — has witnessed incredible success. Participants, like Kevin, are given the opportunity to take part in weekly two-hour sessions focused on building a broad range of communication skills, from conversing and socializing through to reading and writing.
“These sessions give participants the chance to share stories and advance their communication skills, while working as part of a team,” says Dr. Bernhardt, noting that participants play a big role in organizing and running the sessions.
Like many new initiatives, the ALL Group had humble beginnings — with only a handful of participants, and with no home to call their own. But over the years, the program has expanded and, in 2009, the ALL Group moved to UBC, where they’ve come to serve an integral role in helping to contribute to student learning and research at the School of Audiology and Speech Sciences.
In fact, since 2009, ALL Group participants have enabled a variety of clinical experience opportunities for graduate students in the School of Audiology and Speech Sciences, as well as volunteer experience opportunities for undergraduate students looking to pursue speech-language therapy as a career. Participants also contribute to several undergraduate and graduate courses at UBC and, under faculty supervision, provide opportunities for short-term individual intervention by student clinicians. (Any participation in research is voluntary and not a requirement of joining the ALL Group).
In more recent years, Dr. Bernhardt has encouraged new leaders to take the cause forward. Today, the ALL Group is facilitated by speech-language pathologists Bosko Radanov and Riley Rosebush, both former graduates of UBC’s speech-language pathology program, as well as fellow faculty members, like Dr. Paola Colozzo.
The ALL Group program is now marking its 10-year anniversary, thanks to the hard work of volunteers, input from a parent advisory group and faculty in UBC’s Speech-Language Pathology program, as well as financial support from private donors.
In December, participants, donors, volunteer students and faculty gathered at UBC’s School of Audiology and Speech Sciences to mark the 10-year anniversary of the ALL Group. It was during this event that the value of the program was realized, when Kevin – now a man, and one of many words – helped to deliver the closing remarks.
“Thank you,” said Kevin, with an eye on Dr. Bernhardt, who has helped make clear to others what she knew existed so many years ago.