Dr. Heather MacKenzie

Dr. Heather MacKenzie is a speech-language pathologist and educator who entered these professions 45 years ago.

She has worked as a speech-language therapist and diagnostician at the Alberta Children’s Hospital (ACH) Diagnostic Assessment and Treatment Centre in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She then went on to work for Alberta Community Health.

After obtaining her doctorate in child language, phonology, and ad-ministration of medical-educational institutions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States, Heather returned to ACH to become the Director of Preschool Services. Preschool Services provided intensive multi-disciplinary intervention for children with neuro-developmental disorders.

In 1986, Heather opened her private speech-language practice, one of the first in Alberta. After being in private practice for over a decade, she established a preschool program for children with autism spectrum disorder, based on her Learning Preferences and Strengths model.

Heather has written five books and developed a game for enhancing conversational skills in people with autism. She has conducted workshops and given presentations throughout the U.S. and Canada, as well as the U.K., Middle East, and Asia.

Heather presently lives in the French countryside with her husband and a menagerie of dogs and cats.