Sylvia Whiteside was born and raised in southern Ontario. English was her first language and she speaks it with the neutral accent that is commonly heard in Southern Ontario as well as on national radio and television.

Sylvia received her Undergraduate and Master's Degrees in Speech and Language Pathologist from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario in 1985 and 1989, respectively. She is a registered member of CASLPO (College of Audiologists and Speech Pathologist in Ontario).

As a Speech Pathologist, Sylvia is uniquely qualified to work in the area of accent reduction. Her training included courses in phonetics, articulation, grammar, language development and voice. In addition, she has spent 100's of hours listening and analyzing her clients' speech and working through goals set to improve their communication skills.

Sylvia is certified by The Institute of Language and Phonology to offer the Compton P-ESL (Pronouncing English as a Second Language) Program. Developed by Arthur J. Compton, Ph.D. to improve the spoken English of foreign-born individuals, it is based on more than 20 years of linguistic research and teaching.

A lifelong interest and pride in the cultural diversity of Canada has lead Sylvia to focus solely on accent reduction in her work. She is highly aware that a strong accent can be a sensitive topic to someone adjusting to life in Canada. Sylvia strives to make everyone feel at ease in her presence and understands that an accent is part of a person's personality and history. Sylvia's goal is to help you speak clearly in English, not to eliminate your accent completely.