Maëlle Le Rudulier

Why I Became an SLP

It started with a question. During my linguistics degree at Simon Fraser University, I became fascinated by how humans learn to communicate and what happens when that process hits a wall. The more I learned, the more I wanted to be part of actually helping people through it.

Growing up with French and English gave me a front-row seat to how language shapes identity and connection. Bilingual kids and families bring so much that's too often misunderstood in clinical settings. I wanted to be a practitioner who truly gets it. That's what led me to UBC's graduate program in speech-language pathology, where I trained to assess and treat communication and swallowing disorders across all ages.

My Approach

Therapy is collaborative. You're the expert on your life, not me. My job is to bring the clinical knowledge and work alongside you to figure out what actually helps. Every person I work with gets a plan built around their goals, their schedule, and their real life. No one-size-fits-all protocols.

For children, that means therapy rooted in play. Kids learn best when they're engaged, not drilled. I work closely with families to make sure strategies carry over at home so progress doesn't stop when the session ends.

For adults, it means setting functional, meaningful goals together. Whether you're working on fluency, clarity, or confidence in communication, I meet you where you are. We move forward at a pace that works.

I stay up to date with the research so that our sessions reflect what actually works, not outdated habits or guesswork.

Bilingual Speech Therapy

One of the most persistent myths in our field is that bilingualism causes speech or language delays. It doesn't. Bilingual children reach developmental milestones at the same rate as monolingual children. They're simply dividing their language across two systems. When a bilingual child is treated without accounting for both languages, there's a real risk of over-diagnosing delays that don't exist or missing patterns that do.

As a native speaker of both French and English, I assess and deliver therapy fully in either language or fluidly across both. This matters. Bilingual and francophone families in Vancouver deserve to have their child's home language honoured in therapy, not just worked around. It matters for adults too. I offer dedicated French language support for francophones navigating communication challenges and for adults building confidence communicating in French.

Education & Training

• Master of Science, Speech-Language Pathology University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, BC
• Bachelor of Arts, Linguistics Simon Fraser University (SFU), Burnaby, BC

I take continuing education seriously and I'm always looking to expand my skills. The research keeps moving, and I want my practice to keep up.