Heide Emrich

M.Cl.Sc., Reg. CASLPO

Speech-Language Pathologist; 

Certified RDI® Program Consultant

Chopra Meditation Instructor

 During her more than 30 years as a paediatric Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) in Southern Ontario, Heide has passionately supported neurodiverse clients and their families in clinical, home, childcare and school settings. She is co-author of the book Helping Kids Discover and Develop Language published through The University of Western Ontario where she completed her Master of Clinical Sciences in Speech-Language Pathology in 1992.  Her years of facilitating social interaction and parent support groups with occupational therapists and psychologists, for the preschool and school age populations, informed the development of the Stay & Play manual and workshops. The Stay & Play Integrated Social Skills Groups Manual was acknowledged by OARCS (Ontario Association of Children’s Rehabilitation Services, currently know as Empowered Kids Ontario) as a Best Practice in 2008.  Since then, Heide has also been certified as an RDI® Program Consultant and as a Chopra Meditation Instructor.  She provides individualized support to families as an SLP and  RDI® Program Consultant through her private practice. 

 Through her work, Heide has consistently found that families and educators want to know how to help their children or students to better connect with them and with their peers. Their overall goal for their children or students is to have a good life, filled with love and friendships, and some independence. Recognizing these goals, and that families and educators are finding themselves in ever more stressful and overwhelming situations without the resilience necessary to find balance and well-being in their own lives, Heide’s passion project, The WITH Gift, was born. The aim of The WITH Gift is to increase well being by supporting parents and educators in building a deeper, neurodiversity-affirming  relationship with themselves, each other, and the children they guide.  

Alycia Ryan

Parent Contributor and Co-Facilitator for

The WITH Gift Community 

Alycia completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology in 2023. She plans to attend a Master of Arts program in Counselling Psychology in September 2024 to pursue a career as a psychotherapist specializing in autism and ADHD. Her dream is to support individuals and families in navigating challenges with compassion using a holistic approach through a trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming, solution-focused lens. She is passionate about walking alongside other parents and guardians in their pursuit of peace and connection.

 As a late-diagnosed autistic adult and parent to two unique and beautiful autistic children, she has a unique perspective that allows her to view the world through several different lived experiences. One of her children is an unconventional communicator who uses many creative ways to communicate with those around him, including Gestalts, drawing, and an AAC device. He requires significant support and accommodation to navigate safely through the world. Her other child has a combination of ADHD and autism with a Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) profile. With their unique expressions of neurodivergence and her own experience, Alycia understands the importance of acknowledging individual needs, how they are expressed and supported, and how crucial it is to consider each person as an individual and meet them where they are.