During the Covid-19 pandemic a lot of people will be working from home due to the mandated quarantine measures. Most home teleworkers will have to spend hours a day working on their computers and telephone, but they will not have the proper furniture and equipment to reduce the risks of developing muscular skeletal injuries due to improper body positioning and biomechanics.

• Read More

Neil Squire is thrilled to share the news that Occupational Therapist, Katrina Tilley, has been named the CAOT-BC’s Outstanding Occupational Therapist of the Year.

• Read More

A message from Gary Birch, Executive Director, Neil Squire

March 13, 2020

We want to reassure you that we are closely following the latest developments of COVID-19.  Our priority is ensuring the health and safety of our participants, clients, staff, their families, and the greater community.

At this time, our programs and services remain open for business.

We continue to follow the latest guidance from the BC Ministry of Health, the BC Centre for Disease Control, the Public Health Agency of Canada and the World Health Organization.

• Read More

“Assistive Technology Services helped me to get a full time job,” Hao beams.

Today, Hao works as a banker in New Westminster, helping customers meet their financial needs and advising financial solutions.

• Read More

As a bank teller in Kelowna, Natasha helps hundreds of clients a week with their banking transactions. She also has hearing loss in both ears.

“This affects my ability to understand what clients and co-workers need. It is a very loud and distracting environment with a lot of background noise,” Natasha shares. “People speaking in different tones, or with accents, or over the phone can be challenging to comprehend.”

• Read More

Heather Ritchie, AuD, RAUD, RHIP, Aud(C)

Director of Audiology

Heather obtained her Doctorate in Audiology from the A.T. Still University’s School of Health Sciences following her Master of Science in Audiology from the University of British Columbia’s School of Audiology and Speech Sciences. As a dually certified Audiologist and Hearing Instrument Practitioner, she is licensed to practice audiology and perform hearing aid fittings under the College of Speech and Hearing Health Professionals of British Columbia (CSHBC). Heather has an advanced certificate in Cerumen Management and has undergone specialized training in Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) and Decreased Sound Tolerance (DST) under the guidance of Drs. Pawel and Margaret Jastreboff.

She closely follows the newest developments in hearing research and leverages cutting-edge technology in evidence-based solutions to enhance her clients’ communication abilities. Recognizing that each person’s journey to better hearing is unique, Heather takes great care in developing personalized strategies that are tailored to her clients’ specific needs. She finds it deeply rewarding to observe the transformative impact that hearing health can have on her clients’ quality of life. 

Heather serves as the Director of Private Practice Audiology on the Speech and Hearing BC (SHBC) Provincial Council. She is a clinically certified member of Speech-Language and Audiology Canada (SAC), as well as an active member of the Canadian Academy of Audiologists (CAA).

Visit Heather Ritchie’s profile page on LinkedIn.

• Read More

Thomas has dealt with hearing loss for over 20 years. As a geoscientist for much of that time, his hearing loss didn’t significantly affect his work.

“I often worked in remote locations and interacted with just a handful of people,” he says.

After losing that position due to a layoff, however, he found new jobs in first aid and security, and found it much harder to get by.

• Read More

Zhi, of Vancouver, has worked at a bakery for nearly 20 years. He does a little bit of everything, from packaging to preparing the dough to applying icing to cakes, even stepping in to do delivery across the Lower Mainland when required.

He’s a dependable hard worker who likes his workplace, having “made a lot of friends along the way.” He’s also been diagnosed with hearing loss in both ears.

• Read More

Theresa is a kitchen designer and office manager for a small cabinet shop in Langley.

“I work very closely with our customers from the first time they enter our showroom through to installation and deficiency completion,” she explains.

• Read More

Over the past few years, OCR (Optical Character Recognition) apps have been gaining increased popularity among both mainstream users and individuals with disabilities. Because this technology allows users to easily digitize and edit print-based documents, books, photos and more using their smartphones built-in camera, the barrier to alternative, digitized means of expression for individuals who struggle with print-based disabilities is becoming smaller and smaller. In the past, individuals with print-based disabilities would have to seek out alternative formats for learning content, a process that was often both costly and difficult. With OCR apps, individuals with disabilities can quite literally take matters into their own hands.

• Read More