Maria attended McGill University & PennWest University. She worked at various public institutions before starting KIDSPEECH, a private practice in 1988.
Maria was the founding member & first Automobile Insurance chair of OSLA in 1993. Maria had a seat at the table with other regulated professionals (Neuropsych / PT/ OT) recognized in the insurance industry. She brought forth injured children’s needs to be different from that of adults. She introduced the concept of a pre-approved framework to reduce the burden on adjusters & provide Ontarians with timely evidence-based S-LPs service.
She ensured S-LPs & Audiologists were recognized by FSCO as Health Practitioners & not just consulted on an as-needed basis. She developed OSLA’s first fee schedule & worked on developing the first coding system for Treatment Plans & OCF forms.
Maria established early professional development in the medicolegal field (Independent Evaluations). In the ’90s, The Medicolegal Society welcomed her as a non-member, since at the time, only physicians were members. Maria was the first Canadian S-LP to be a Certified Life Care Planner.
Maria established the Scaringi Workshop & Lecture Series in Speech-Pathology with McGill University. She developed a speech & language screening tool available on the Kidspeech’s website. She established three annual scholarships with SAC.
Her reports include what she developed for the legal & insurance industry in the 90s to understand what S-LPs assess. This one-page chart which she uses in her Independent Examinations & Expert reports is THE COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNICATION PROFILE (C)CC, published in 2010, used by others & published in ASHA journals supported by OSLA & CASLPO.
