Meet Nicole Salvador | Speech-Language Pathologist — Totally Talking Edmonton & St Albert

Let’s take a minute to get to know Nicole!

Nicole is thoughtful and sharp and she is an SLP star who loves to share her knowledge about all things language and speech Development, with a keen interest in multilingualism as it relates to language development.

Many of the families who contact Totally Talking have had the chance to get to know Nicole over the last year and I’m so happy to feature how amazing she is.

How did you meet Lisa?

I met Lisa through Lyndsay Bourdeau whom I worked with at a local school division in St. Albert! At the time I just got a job after graduating, and worked part-time hours. Lyndsay asked if I wanted to explore working privately and meet this other lovely lady that she collaborated with.

From there, I have had the pleasure of working with these two amazing speech-language pathologists in the community, and I continuously learn from them in terms of finding better ways to provide services and being a kind and well-rounded clinician.

Why did you choose this field?

I chose speech-language pathology because in the Philippines, this field was not quite popular but it was a competitive program and I heard it had a lot to do with understanding language and helping people. I didn't want to become a doctor, a lawyer, or an engineer like most of my high school classmates - careers that many Filipino/Asian families consider as most successful or most prosperous. All that schooling was not financially feasible for my family.

I grew to love the field as I took more linguistics and psychology classes (the human brain is so interesting!) so when my family and I left for Canada, I continued to aspire to get into this field; primarily because I have heard that many S-LPs find this job rewarding, and the act of helping people to the best that I can is something that I really value even to this day.

What is your favorite part of being an SLP?

There's so many things I love about being a S-LP. One of them is seeing a child's face light up when they know they produced the correct sound or word that they have been working on in the same way that parents' faces light up when they hear their child spontaneously communicate with them for the first time.

I love collaborating with parents and teachers, especially when they try a strategy that we practiced and they find that it works and they would like to try it in a different way or in another activity that they think of. These are moments that I know the people that I work with are empowered and feel confident in carrying out what we are working on.

What is something you are looking forward to in the next 6 months?

With a more balanced time between working at the schools and in private practice, I am excited to explore life outside of work! For most of my life, I took pride in the hustle mentality and in constant productivity, and there are many advantages to that, but I am realizing that there's also some merit in taking time away from one aspect of my life and trying out new hobbies that I have never done before!

Career-wise though, I look forward to learning more about treatment in the area of language and literacy as well as in severe phonological disorders and in speech-motor learning disorders. I also want to deepen my understanding of strength-based and trauma-informed practice so that I am better equipped to work with families coming from diverse and adverse experiences.

What do you enjoy doing when you're not at work?

If you asked me that months ago, I probably would not know how to respond! These days, I love going on walks and snuggling with my little doggo. I love going for quick workouts at a studio where I live. I love spending time with my partner and my family, just eating korean fried chicken and bubble tea while competitively playing cards. On my own, I love tinkering and organizing, so I have been obsessed with watching home organization shows like The Home Edit and interior design clips from McGee and Co AND then implementing what I can in my house.

Is there anything you'd like to specialize in one day?

In my field, if I can specialize in language intervention and in speech therapy to children with motor speech disorders, including childhood apraxia of speech, I would do it in a heartbeat! In general, I do want to be knowledgeable in interior design to the extent that I can renovate my own place and elevate its design!