Welcome to
My mission as your child's speech and language pathologist is to provide individualized care to address the needs of both your child and your family. I take an interactive and client-led approach to therapy to implement evidence-based treatment to maximize progress. I am committed to ensuring your child has a positive learning experience while working on skills that will have the greatest impact on their communication, education, and daily functioning.
Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS)
CAS is a motor speech disorder in which a child produces speech that is difficult to understand due to inconsistency in how words are said, a reduced number of consonants and vowel sounds, difficulty combining sounds and syllables into full words, and irregularities in the rate and intonation of connected speech. When treating childhood apraxia of speech, therapy will focus on teaching the motor plans for accurate speech production while also increasing functional communication.
Speech Sound Disorders
Articulation Disorders • Phonological Delays & Disorders
Children with speech sound disorders have difficulty producing certain sounds or following the sound rules of the English language. This can lead to speech that is difficult to understand. I integrate research-based methods into interactive and fun activities to treat each child’s speech sound challenges. I also believe in treating the whole child and will refer to and collaborate with an orofacial myology specialist when appropriate.
Language Delays & Disorders
Receptive Language • Expressive Language • Literacy
Services will begin with a comprehensive assessment to identify your child's specific language and/or literacy challenges. I will also connect with teachers to understand how these challenges are impacting your child at school so I can target skills and strategies that will increase success beyond the therapy room. Once therapy begins I will provide individualized support to build new language and literacy skills.
Autism Spectrum Disorder & Social Language Disorders
Autistic children, teens, and adults often struggle with understanding, interpreting, and using both verbal and non-verbal communication within social situations. They can also have difficulty advocating for themselves so others understand their needs. I work with my clients and their families to identify what goals are important to them to address each client's unique needs.
Executive Function &
Cognitive Linguistic Impairments
Individuals with executive function challenges and/or cognitive differences may struggle to pay attention to what’s important, organize their space, set priorities, monitor their actions, and complete tasks independently. We directly teach executive functioning skills and help those skills transfer into various activities and environments.
Early Intervention
Early intervention services are for children birth to 3 years old who are experiencing delays in their communication and/or social and play skills. My approach is always centered on each family's values, goals, and specific needs. I take a parent coaching approach, as early intervention leads to successful outcomes when parents are empowered with the skills and knowledge to support their child at home.
Meet Anne
Anne Hodits, M.A. CCC-SLP/L
Recognized By Apraxia Kids™ for Advanced Training and Expertise in Childhood Apraxia of Speech
Anne is a devoted speech-language pathologist (SLP) with over a decade of experience in the field. She earned her master’s degree in Speech, Language, and Learning from Northwestern University, and has since practiced in a variety of educational, medical, and clinical settings.
Anne believes in making therapy engaging, fun, and meaningful. Many Strive to Thrive families have said that she just “gets” their child; a testament to her ability to build rapport and trust with her clients. Anne goes above and beyond as a practitioner— consulting with parents, teachers, school speech therapists, pediatricians, and other providers to ensure that her clients receive the most quality treatment. She attends her clients’ IEP meetings, visits their workplaces, and works hard to bridge the gap between the therapy room and the real world.
Anne has pursued extensive training in Childhood Apraxia of Speech, leading to her formal recognition as an apraxia specialist from the Apraxia Kids organization. She is a graduate of the Apraxia Kids "Apraxia Boot Camp", an intensive advanced training program designed to intensively train and advance the clinical expertise of selected speech therapists in the diagnosis and treatment of childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). Anne has presented at the Apraxia Kids Conference in 2021 and 2023, and at the Illinois Speech and Hearing Association Conference in 2022.
Anne has also been presented with an ACE Award from the national American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) for her dedication to professional learning. Along with her clinical contributions, Anne is currently serving on the Board of Directors for a special needs preschool that will be opening in Fall 2022. She is grateful for these opportunities to give back to her community.
When she is not working, Anne values the time she gets to spend with family and friends; especially her husband, young son, and beagle. She loves to work out, run, explore Chicago, and try new steakhouses!
Advanced Training & Certifications
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Apraxia Kids Recognized for Advanced Training and Expertise in Childhood Apraxia of Speech
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Award for Continuing Education (ACE) by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. The ACE is a formal recognition of professionals who have earned at least 70 continuing education hours in a 3-year period
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PROMPT I and Bridging Training (Prompts for Restructuring Oral Motor Phonetic Targets)
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Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing
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Kaufman Speech to Language protocol
Location
CLINIC
I serve clients in my welcoming and family-friendly Arlington Heights clinic.
HOME
Home-based therapy sessions foster new communication skills in your child’s most natural environment.
TELETHERAPY
Online therapy sessions are both convenient and evidence-based and are offered to clients located anywhere in Illinois.
COMMUNITY
I can meet with your child at their daycare, preschool, or other community settings.
Getting Started
1.
Let's connect to discuss your child’s communication skills and get your therapy questions answered. I will make recommendations for the next steps for you and your child. If an evaluation is recommended, my director of administration will follow up to get you scheduled.
2.
Attend an evaluation session. All children have unique profiles and the evaluation session allows me to understand your child's strengths and challenges, and what motivates your child to communicate in our world.
3.
Following the evaluation, we will review the results and my recommendations. Together we will develop a therapy plan and specific goals for your child. The frequency and duration of therapy sessions will be determined during this time as well.
Billing & Insurance
Strive to Thrive is currently in-network with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois PPO
and UnitedHealthcare. For out-of-network clients, I provide a Superbill to help families seek reimbursement from their insurance for services.
Referrals
Referrals directly from parents are accepted; however, it is best practice to discuss your concerns with your pediatrician/PCP and request you obtain a prescription for services prior to our first appointment. This prescription allows the entire care team to be involved and work together.