Meet Serena
& Kayla!
Two colleagues with a passion for speech & language, Serena and Kayla met at the University of Toronto where they were studying Linguistics. Fast forward many years later - they decided to partner to open ‘Sparks of Speech’ to provide speech and language services in the Durham Region. They are both professional, fun and energetic and are looking forward to meeting you!
Meet the team
*
Meet the team *
Serena Appalsamy
Speech Language Pathologist
Serena Appalsamy B.A., MSP, S-LP (Reg. CASLPO) is a Speech Language Pathologist and co-founder of Sparks of Speech. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psycholinguistics at the University of Toronto and received further training at University of Queensland, obtaining a Masters in Speech Language Pathology. She is currently a registered Speech Language Pathologist with the College of Audiologists and Speech Language Pathologists of Ontario (CASLPO).
Serena works within a pediatric population and provides services for early language development, articulation and phonological delays, motor speech disorders, voice, lisps, literacy, social skills and stuttering. She is also PROMPT and Orton-Gillingham trained. Serena takes pride in working closely with clients and their families using a holistic approach to discover their communication needs and goals to achieve the best results.
Kayla Collymore
Communicative Disorders Assistant
Kayla Collymore HBSc., CDA, Reg. CDAAC is a Speech Therapy Assistant / Communicative Disorders Assistant and co-founder of Sparks of Speech who has experience providing speech and language therapy to children and adults with varying abilities. She holds an Honours BSc. in Linguistics & Psychology from the University of Toronto and furthered her education with a graduate certificate in Communicative Disorders from Durham College. Kayla is registered with the Communicative Disorders Assistant Association of Canada (CDAAC).
Kayla has a passion for removing communication barriers across the lifespan and loves working with children. She believes in using evidence-based practice to help individuals reach their communicative potential and strives to tailor therapy to meet each child’s goals in a fun and creative way. Kayla has experience in articulation and language, speech sound and phonological processing disorders, early language development, total communication, ASL, parent training, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and literacy.
Rabiya Nayyar
Communicative Disorders Assistant
Rabiya Nayyar BHSc., CDA, Reg. CDAAC is a Speech Therapy Assistant / Communicative Disorders Assistant who has experience working with children of different ages, ranging from preschool to school-age children.
She completed her undergrad at UOIT for Kinesiology and obtained a graduate certificate in Communicative Disorders from Durham College. She is registered with the Communicative Disorders Assistant Association of Canada (CDAAC). Rabiya has a broad range of experience in areas such as articulation and language development, early language skills, total communication, parent training, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), and literacy. She is dedicated to providing evidence-based therapy that is both fun and engaging, with a focus on child-led progress and creating a positive, supportive environment for every child.
Kenisha Russell
Communicative Disorders Assistant
Kenisha is a dedicated Communicative Disorders Assistant with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and a minor in Psychology from Trent University. She later completed the Communicative Disorders Assistant Program at Durham College. Kenisha is also a member of the Communicative Disorders Assistant Association of Canada (CDAAC).
Kenisha is passionate about empowering children and youth with diverse communication needs and utilizes an evidence-based, neurodiversity-affirming approach. She has experience with speech sound disorders, phonological processing disorders, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), literacy, early intervention, stuttering, and parent training.