{"id":23191,"date":"2017-02-24T03:42:53","date_gmt":"2017-02-24T11:42:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=23191"},"modified":"2017-02-21T23:07:53","modified_gmt":"2017-02-22T07:07:53","slug":"trying-to-make-a-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2017\/02\/24\/trying-to-make-a-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"Trying to make a difference"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lesley Morris, left, and Gayle Robyn Morris at\u00a0the Bayit\u2019s Ladies\u2019 Sushi Night.\u00a0(photo by Lauren Kramer)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In every community, and ours is no exception, there are folks who frequently capture the spotlight for their work while others quietly get things done behind the scenes, flying below the media radar. In our new Kibitz & Schmooze profile, we\u2019ll try to highlight members of Greater Vancouver\u2019s Jewish community who are doing outstanding, admirable and mention-worthy work out of view of the general public. If you know of profile subjects who fit this description, please email laurenkramer@shaw.ca<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Shari Linde is a specialist in communication disorders and founder of Advantage Speech-Language Pathology. (photo from Shari Linde)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a specialist in communication disorders and founder of Advantage Speech-Language Pathology, Shari Linde\u2019s days are filled with children and adults who need help for language or speech delays or disorders, stuttering, autism, voice problems, strokes, dementia and even accent reduction.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see adult immigrants whose accents affect how well they are understood. Sometimes their jobs depend on their ability to communicate in good English,\u201d says the 48-year-old Edmonton native who moved to British Columbia in 1994.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are lots of tears in my office and the work requires a great deal of compassion,\u201d she adds. \u201cYou have to be able to break difficult news to a family in this field. It\u2019s good to know that you\u2019re helping people and making a difference, but sometimes it\u2019s very sad, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now residing in Richmond with her family, Linde\u2019s Steveston-based firm of 10 therapists sees a constant stream of clients of all ages \u2013 not just because she and her team are great speech therapists, but also because there\u2019s a dire shortage of speech-language professionals across the country. \u201cThere\u2019s only 11 schools across Canada offering the two-year graduate program and UBC has only 36 graduates a year,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

A dynamic professional who thrives on challenge, Linde enjoys sharing her personal knowledge and experiences through regular guest lectures at the University of British Columbia and at conferences, rehabilitation agencies, schools and preschools.<\/p>\n

She also supplements her private practice with medical-legal work as an expert witness in British Columbia and Alberta. Linde\u2019s been called to testify in ICBC cases, medical malpractice suits and insurance claims, where she helps to determine the cost of future services and equipment for people whose communication deficits result from brain or other injuries. Some of it can be \u201cpretty awful stuff,\u201d she admits. \u201cBut I do it because it keeps me on my toes, it\u2019s fascinating work and it gets me out of my normal routine of regular clients. It makes me think about what I\u2019m doing, why I\u2019m doing it and what impact my work has.\u201d<\/p>\n

The impact can be immense for Linde\u2019s speech therapy patients. \u201cThere are days where the changes required from a child are easily made, or when I see adults whose speech impediments are quickly resolved. In cases like that, you walk out of the office feeling victorious, like you know exactly why you\u2019re doing what you\u2019re doing,\u201d she says. \u201cOther things I see make me sad and angry, such as the victims of accidents from drunk driving or abuse and kids with brain damage from strokes or serious medical conditions. Those are days when you go home extremely grateful for what you have.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

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Fifteen Richmond women attended the challah bake hosted by Chanie Baitelman of Chabad of Richmond at her home on Jan. 18, where they learned how to knead, braid and bake challah. (photo by Lauren Kramer)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

***<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s no secret Vancouverites love sushi but, after the Bayit\u2019s Ladies\u2019 Sushi Night, held on Jan. 12, there are at least 50 women who can now make their own! The event was organized by Rivky Varnai and Matti Feigelstock. Attendees learned how to make a variety of rolls before enjoying the fruits of their labour.\u00a0Pictured here are sushi-makers, left to right, Liorah Johnson, Naama Shafran-Matis, Yelena Novikov and Ayana Honig.\u00a0(photo by Lauren Kramer)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lauren Kramer<\/strong>, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond. To read her work online, visit laurenkramer.net<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lesley Morris, left, and Gayle Robyn Morris at\u00a0the Bayit\u2019s Ladies\u2019 Sushi Night.\u00a0(photo by Lauren Kramer) In every community, and ours is no exception, there are folks who frequently capture the spotlight for their work while others quietly get things done behind the scenes, flying below the media radar. In our new Kibitz & Schmooze profile, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23132,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[6791,2728,5178,6788,6789,6790],"class_list":["post-23191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","tag-challah-bake","tag-language","tag-richmond","tag-shari-linde","tag-speech-therapy","tag-sushi"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23191\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}