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Child participating in Childhood Apraxia of Speech therapy in Chicago, IL
Autism Spectrum Disorder therapy in Chicago, IL
Social Language Disorder Teletherapy in Illinois

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.

Differential diagnosis of CAS is essential and requires a comprehensive speech assessment by a knowledgeable and trained speech therapist. Once therapy begins, we will help your child establish new sounds, words, and phrases through evidence-based treatment approaches such as:

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  • Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing (DTTC)

  • The PROMPT Institute tactile and kinesthetic cues

  • Kaufman Speech to Language Protocol

  • Multisensory prompts and cues

  • Incorporation of Principles of Motor Learning

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. We integrate research-based methods into interactive and fun activities to treat each child’s speech sound challenges. We also believe in treating the whole child and will refer to and collaborate with an orofacial myology specialist when appropriate.

Direct, one-on-one speech therapy will support your child in developing age-appropriate speech skills so they can effectively and confidently communicate. Speech therapy will help your child:

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  • Accurately produce sounds in syllables, words, phrases, and sentences

  • Increase overall speech clarity

  • Develop awareness of errors and self-correct

  • Reduce distortions of sound such as 's', 'r', and 'l'

  • Communicate with confidence

SSD

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. We will also connect with teachers to understand how these challenges are impacting your child at school so that we can target skills and strategies that will increase success beyond the therapy room. Once therapy begins, we will provide individualized support to build new language and literacy skills.

Children with language disorders may have difficulty understanding and utilizing language to communicate. We implement both child-centered and clinician-led activities to teach and explain challenging concepts. We will systematically increase the difficulty of tasks in our sessions and use written, visual, and kinesthetic cues to help your child: 

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  • Understand basic concepts, vocabulary, directions, and questions

  • Increase vocabulary and sentence length

  • Use complete and grammatically correct sentences

  • Tell stories that are organized and clear

  • Build early literacy skills such as alphabet knowledge and sounds

  • Develop reading and writing 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 that others understand their needs. We will work with your family to identify what goals are important to you and address your child's unique needs. 

Using neurodiverse affirming strategies in our sessions in order to make therapy motivating, client-centered, and full of opportunities to allow your child to learn about the world around them. Our goal is to help your child develop skills such as:

 

  • Understanding their own perspectives and the perspectives of others

  • Initiating communication and engaging in reciprocal conversations

  • Understanding and navigating social situations

  • Practicing joint attention and cooperative/collaborative play 

  • Learning self-regulation and self-advocacy skills

  • Learning self-help and life skills for engagement in school and at work

ASD
Language

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.

Individualized executive functioning therapy for children, teens, and adults involves:

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  • Use of visuals, verbal explanations, and videos to teach concepts

  • Support for planning, sequencing, and organizing tasks 

  • Developing skills to aid in attention and recall

  • Developing time management skills

  • Learning self-regulation and goal persistence

  • Job coaching, on-site observations, and consulting with employers

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. Our sessions are always centered on your family's values, goals, and specific needs. We take a parent-coaching approach to therapy as early intervention is the most successful when parents are empowered with the skills and knowledge to support their child at home.

You will be invited to engage in therapy sessions and learn new ways to foster your child’s development within everyday routines. Early intervention services can help your child develop new communication skills, such as:

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  • Use of gestures or visuals

  • Imitation of play actions and sounds

  • Communication using sign language

  • Production of first words or new words

  • Increasing vocabulary and use of words to communicate

EF
EI

Literacy Instruction

Our brains are hardwired for language, but not for reading and writing— which is why many students require explicit and systematic literacy intervention to succeed.

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We take an individualized approach when addressing literacy challenges because each student has different strengths and abilities across the literacy domains. We will take a look at some of your child's work samples and formally assess their reading fluency, comprehension, and writing skills in order to make a treatment plan. Your child will receive tailored support as they move from phonemic awareness and phonics to writing letters, syllables, words, and paragraphs. 

 

Our literacy interventions focus on building skills that will directly improve your child's ability to reach grade-level standards and experience success in their future educational and professional endeavors.

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