Gabrielle Desaulniers

I am a Speech-Language Pathologist and member of the Ordre des Orthophonistes et Audiologistes du Québec. I completed both my bachelor's and my master’s degree in  Speech-Language Pathology at the Université de Montréal in 2021. Growing up in a small town, I was always very curious and passionate about languages and communication as a whole. I grew up speaking French and learned English mostly through my own curiosity about international culture, and I’m still very fond of learning new languages. I thrive when being creative, silly and surrounded by colleagues and clients who push me to better myself everyday. I love finding new and colorful ways to make speech and language feel more like a game and less like a challenge for my patients.

Being diagnosed with ADHD in adulthood has shaped my practice and my personal life, and unlearning many of the stigmas associated with neurodivergence has been an eye-opening and very rewarding experience. I strive to create a safe space for all my clients and promote neurodiversity both in my therapeutic approach and in my counseling role for families and professionals. I do not believe in practices that encourage a child to mask their true selves or to make themselves uncomfortable to fit a norm, and I will gladly adapt any and all traditional intervention methods and goals to foster authentic communication and relationship building over neurotypical conformity.

During my years of schooling, I gathered invaluable experience working in different clinical environments, both in schools and clinics. I work mostly with a pediatric clientele and have worked mostly with neurodivergent children and teenagers, but am always willing to learn and take steps to further my understanding of a variety of topics in order to offer the best possible services for my clients. I discovered a great interest in alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) and its benefits, and aspire to become a resource for families as well as professionals in order to give as many children as possible access to a total communication framework that fits their needs.