Sara Turner, M.Sc.(A), R.SLP, SLP(C), CCC-SLP

Sara is a certified member of Speech-Language & Audiology Canada (SAC) and the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA). Sara has lived in Calgary since 2005. She has over 15 years of experience, and loves to help people of all ages develop their functional communication skills. Sara represents Connecting Dots as an active member of the Autism Calgary Network. In her spare time, she can be found singing, reading, crafting or at the rink for her kid’s many hockey practices and games.

Elizabeth Wotherspoon, MS, R.SLP, CCC-SLP

Elizabeth was born and raised in Saskatoon, SK where she completed a Bachelor of Arts degree before moving to Minot, North Dakota where she completed her Bachelor of Science and Master’s degrees in communication Disorders and Sciences. Elizabeth is a certified member of the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA). She has a passion for using play to achieve communicative goals in young individuals. In her spare time, Elizabeth can be found making memories with her young family or getting creative: painting, drawing, macramé-ing!

Kirsten Stagg, M.Sc.(A), R.SLP, SLP(C)

Kirsten was born and raised in Calgary. She received her undergraduate degree in Linguistics from the University of Calgary, and completed her Master’s at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. Kirsten is a certified member of Speech-Language Audiology Canada (SAC). She has a passion for working with kids and their families to provide support and guidance in communication through play. Kirsten grew up playing (and still enjoys playing) the sport of ringette, and can be found travelling or exploring the outdoors in her free time.

Leanne Wu, MSc SLP, R.SLP

Leanne was born in Calgary and raised in Hong Kong. She came back to Canada by herself when she was 14 to further pursue her journey in speech-language pathology. She completed her undergraduate degree in Lingiustics and Psychology from the University of Saskatchewan and her Master’s in Speech Language Pathology from Minot State University. She is fluent in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin. She has experience working in private practice, home and community, and school settings, and most importantly, she is still a child at heart! When she is not working, she enjoys baking, spending time with her family and friends, watching soccer, travelling, and of course, watching Netflix!

Theresa Nguyen, MSc SLP, R. SLP

Theresa obtained her undergraduate degree in Linguistics and Psychology and her Master’s in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Alberta. She is fluent in English and Vietnamese and has had several years of experience working with the pediatric population in various settings. Theresa is passionate about collaborating with families to support them in reaching their communication goals through therapy which is fun, effective, and meaningful. In her free time, you can find Theresa on the climbing wall, playing badminton, or singing!

Jenna Yang, M.Sc.OT

Jenna was born in Taiwan and moved to Calgary as a child. She attended the University of Calgary for her undergrad degree in Kinesiology and went onto the University of Alberta for her Master’s in Occupational Therapy. Jenna recognizes the importance of early intervention and has found her passion in working with the pediatric population. In her free time, Jenna enjoys reading, baking, crafting, and spending time with her family and friends. 

Kate Taplin, P. OT

Kate graduated with a Masters of Science Degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Alberta. She has over 7 years of experience working in community-rehabilitation, and is excited to expand her skillset working with the Pediatric population at Connecting Dots. In her spare time, Kate enjoys skating, snowboarding and spending time with her family and friends.

Jawad Hashim, R. PT, BSc (PT), Msc (Kin)

Jawad completed Physiotherapy degree in 2008 from University of Health Sciences, Lahore followed by internship in Children Hospital and Institute of Child Health. He is a community physiotherapist since then and been active in clinical practice, academia and research. He completed Masters (Kinesiology) from University of Calgary. In his free time he loves to travel, read and spend time with family.

Claudia Ng, M.C., Registered Provisional Psychologist

Claudia moved from Hong Kong to Calgary as a child and is fluent in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin. She has over 10 years of experience working in medical settings in helping individuals affected by anxiety, depression, and Motor Vehicle Accidents. Claudia also has a passion for working with children because she enjoys playing just as much as the children she works with. She believes in meeting each child at where they are at, at that very moment. Claudia has over 15 years of experience providing psycho-educational assessments, treatment, and consultation to children and families with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other developmental challenges in both school and in-home settings. Claudia enjoys travelling, backpack camping, building Lego car models, and playing on her Switch. She volunteers regularly for charities in Calgary and aboard. 

Alexandra Suvanto, M.SC., Registered Provisional Psychologist

Alexandra has a Masters of Science in Child & Developmental Psychology from Southern New Hampshire University. She has worked in the special needs field for 15 years and has experience with a variety of areas including children who have complex medical needs. Alexandra has facilitated social skills and therapy groups for children and adolescents and has worked extensively with children and their families in their homes, the community and in school settings. Alexandra’s therapy approach is play based both directive and non-directive. Alexandra integrates components of cognitive behavioral therapy, emotion focused therapy and solution focused therapy. Alexandra’s passion is working and helping others achieve their highest potential allowing the client to feel empowered by the skills they develop through therapy.

Crystal McNaughton, MACP, Registered Psychologist

Crystal is a registered psychologist with a passion for helping children and families and have been doing so for over 17 years. She has an extensive background in counselling psychology and play therapy training and is always seeking fun and creative ways to engage with her clients. Her focus is supporting children (ages 0-18 years) with developmental disabilities, including Autism Spectrum Disorder. Crystal can also help you and your child with issues such as behavioral challenges, emotion regulation, depression, anger and aggression, developing social skills, parenting support, bullying, domestic violence exposure, trauma, grief and loss, suicidal ideation, and divorce. She works from an integrative approach and believes each child and family is unique and that there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach. She is currently a Mom to 2 boys and a dog named Penny. She likes to play too, and keep busy playing sports, reading, and camping with my family. She thrives on the diversity and energy of working with children, and is grateful for the opportunity to support you and your child in your journey.

Connecting Dots has a growing team of behavioural/developmental aides. Our aides have a variety of backgrounds, education and experience. What brings them together is that they all value children and play. They are skilled in being able to work at each child’s developmental level, using play and parent coaching to teach a family new ways to be successful. Our aides are valuable members of any multi-disciplinary team. When they are not working at Connecting Dots, our aides can be found doing many activities including studying, knitting, snowboarding and riding motorbikes.

Freda Neudorf

Freda came to Connecting Dots with many years of office experience and great organizational skills. She is happily married and has two adult children. Freda enjoys spending time with her family and friends, going for walks, baking, reading and eating dark chocolate. Freda is instrumental in keeping things running smoothly behind the scenes.