Hello and welcome!
I’m Elene Dolan, a registered and certified Speech-Language Pathologist and founder of Lene On Me - Speech Therapy Services.
I’m an avid traveller who loves playing guitar, crafting, hiking, and spending time with family and friends. I’m incredibly passionate about my career and love connecting with others. I’ve spent most of the last ten years working both in the school system and private practice and have loved the experience of working with clients of all ages with a variety of needs.
Having grown up in Fort Nelson, a small, rural town in Northern British Columbia, I felt the impact of limited access to professional services. As a result, I started my online private practice to provide high-quality, specialized services to clients and families throughout British Columbia and Alberta.
Knowing firsthand the positive influence that accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment can have on one’s life, my goal is to help identify speech sound disorders and orofacial myofunctional disorders (OMD) in children as early as possible to give them the best chance for successful communication and a healthier life. Similarly, I endeavour to help those, at any age, who may have been misdiagnosed throughout their life, or were simply unaware of any underlying OMDs, to find proper diagnoses and support them along their own healing journey.
Learn more about my personal experience with orofacial myofunctional disorder here.
My Professional Background
I graduated from the University of Alberta in 2012 with a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology after earning my Bachelor of Arts degree with a Psychology major and Sociology minor from the University of British Columbia – Okanagan Campus. I am certified with Speech-Language & Audiology Canada (SAC) and registered with the College of Speech and Hearing Health Professionals of British Columbia (CSHBC) and the Alberta College of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists (ACSLPA). I am a member of the Academy of Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy (AOMT) and the International Consortium of Oral Ankylofrenula Professionals (ICAP).
My training in orofacial myology includes the Understanding the Orofacial Complex (Certified Orofacial Myologist Certification Track Course) by Kristie Gatto with the International Association of Orofacial Myology (IAOM), the Introduction to Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy program with the Academy of Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy (AOMT), certification with the Simon Says Myofunctional Therapy training program for speech-language pathologists, and on-going professional development (see the list of my professional development experiences below).
Beyond my formal education, I have experience in clinical and school settings in British Columbia and Alberta, both in person and via Telepractice, providing treatment to clients of all ages diagnosed with speech and/or language disorders, orofacial myofunctional disorders, hearing impairment, Autism Spectrum, learning disabilities, cognitive delays, and fluency concerns.
My Guiding Principles
Breathing is Paramount
The ability to breathe well provides the foundation for a healthy life. By ensuring ideal airway functioning, we can then address subsequent areas of need including swallowing, chewing, rest posture, speech, etc. My goal is to promote better overall health by focusing on ideal airway functioning as the foundation for therapy.
Access to Service
Given the ever-increasing need for access to high-quality, specialized therapeutic services, I offer PIPA-compliant Telepractice service for all residents of British Columbia and Alberta, regardless of location.
Holistic Approach
Given the many possible reasons for a client’s health issues or communication delay, I offer a holistic, evidence-based approach to assessment and treatment which allows me to look at each client as a whole and tailor the goals and therapeutic experience to their specific needs.
Functional Therapy
Functional therapy focuses on restoring strength and proper function of the orofacial complex and muscular system with the goal of making it easier for clients to perform their everyday activities. By striving to keep therapy as functional as possible, home programs are easier to incorporate into daily routines and there is a higher chance of successful outcomes.
Support and Empower
In my practice, I offer clients the opportunity to ‘Lene On Me’ while they learn the tools and strategies that will enable them to achieve their goals, whether it be to improve the clarity of their speech, correct their swallow, or support healthy facial and airway development.
Educate and Advocate
By educating other professionals about the impact orofacial myofunctional disorders and encouraging collaboration, mutual clients are better supported and can achieve the best outcomes.
Why I Became a Speech-Language Pathologist
There are many circumstances in my life that undoubtedly played a role in guiding the direction of my career path; however, cliché as it may be, I became a speech-language pathologist because I simply felt called to this profession. Not surprising considering that I come from a family of nurses and teachers and it seems that speech-language pathology is a profession that combines some of the best parts of my parent’s professions that I have always been drawn to: the desire to educate and the desire to heal.
Being a speech-language pathologist has been as rewarding and fulfilling as I had imagined it would be -and often exceeds my own expectations. I share in the joy of my clients and families as they achieve their goals and I’m always bursting with pride when I see my clients accomplish something they once thought impossible.
I feel so grateful to be in a professional role that gives me the opportunity to not only support communication, but also feeding, swallowing, and healthy facial and airway development to help others fully enjoy their lives!
My Professional Development
Select a link below to review my professional development experiences:
Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders / Therapy
Speech Sound Disorders / Therapy
Fluency / Stuttering
Language
Swallowing, Feeding, & Dysphagia
