Hello, I’m Bettina.
Bettina Paasila
Licensed speech and language therapist, MA
I qualified as a speech and language therapist at the University of Helsinki in 2021. What matters most to me in therapy is meeting each client as an individual and finding ways that make communicating and taking part easier in real, everyday situations.
I enjoy working closely together with the people around the client — family, the daycare centre, the school and the wider everyday network.
My expertise and areas of interest
- developmental language disorders
- supporting interaction
- rehabilitation for autistic children and adults
- communication with clients who speak little or not at all
- augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)
- speech motor skills and unclear speech
- multilingual clients and families
- strengthening communication skills in everyday life
Wide-ranging speech therapy
The variety of this work is what I love most about it. I work with many different challenges in communication, interaction, speech and language. I have deepened my expertise especially in rehabilitation for autistic clients, developmental language disorders, AAC methods, supporting communication for clients who speak little or not at all, and in speech motor skills and unclear speech.
Work experience
Since qualifying I have worked both in speech therapy rehabilitation and in assessment, in the private and public sectors. In the private sector I have worked mainly as a rehabilitative speech and language therapist, and in the public sector also in assessment roles.
What matters to me in therapy
I want therapy to be purposeful, and at the same time enjoyable and motivating. I work warmly, whole-heartedly and around the things the client is genuinely interested in. It matters to me that the child feels safe in therapy and that parents can trust our cooperation too.
I think about rehabilitation in a practical, solution-focused way. The aim is not to practise skills only during individual therapy sessions, but to find ways together to support communication and interaction in ordinary everyday situations as well. That is why I gladly work closely with the family, the daycare centre, the school and the rest of the child’s everyday network.
“The goal is not to separate rehabilitation from everyday life – but to make everyday life more rehabilitative.”
Education and continuing professional development
I qualified as a speech and language therapist at the University of Helsinki in 2021.
Speech and language therapist, MA
University of Helsinki, 2021
Continuing education
Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) Level 2 Training
13 h
Encouraging Communication and Language from Autistic Children and Others with Minimal Verbal Abilities
2 days
PDA – pathological demand avoidance
10 h
AAC in practice – effective methods
14 h
3-Part Treatment Plan for OPT™
TalkTools, 12 h
Practical, well-tested tips for supporting language comprehension
Introduction to PROMPT: Technique Workshop
The PROMPT Institute, 18 h
Joy and enthusiasm in autism rehabilitation
1 day
PRT – how to use it in autism rehabilitation?
14 h
Naming and word finding: assessment, therapy and guiding parents
1 day
Observing, assessing and treating unclear speech
1 day
Difficulties with narrative skills: assessment, therapy and guiding parents
1 day
The triangle and cornerstones of communication
7 h
Therapy for language difficulties: vocabulary, narrative skills and language comprehension
1 day
Language difficulties – advanced studies
1.5 ECTS
Other professional continuing education
Courses for which the year of completion is not certain from the information provided.
Rehabilitation of the autistic child – training programme
1.5 ECTS
Providing remote therapy
1.5 ECTS
The ABC of therapeutic goal setting
8 h / 1 day
What every therapist should know about overcoming feeding difficulties
8 h / 1 day
More on observation
8 h
Continuous professional development is an important part of my work. I have deepened my expertise especially in supporting communication and interaction, rehabilitation for autistic clients, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), language skills, and speech motor rehabilitation.