EVALUATION SERVICES

We conduct formal evaluations to determine your child’s current skill level and overall communication profile in the areas of speech, language, literacy and feeding. Evaluations are customized to fit the needs of YOUR child. We use the most current instrumentation as well as extensive checklists from parents and teachers/interventionists to guide in our assessment choices and to gain a deeper understanding of your child's strengths and areas of need. Findings, recommendations, diagnosis (if applicable) and measurable goals are determined in our assessments.

INDIVIDUAL THERAPY

We offer 1:1 speech, language, feeding and early literacy intervention in our child-friendly office and within the home setting within a certain radius. We also provide teletherapy services.

Articulation/Phonology

Articulation Therapy targets the motor production of problematic/distorted sounds using placement and movement techniques. Individuals may struggle to produce various sounds including s, z, l. r, sh, ch because they are not clear on how to move their articulators to generate a crisp sound etc.  Phonological therapy (a linguistic approach) is implemented to improve sound processing and sound discrimination and to remediate sound error patterns (e.g. leaving off word endings, substituting one sound for another). Both interventions work to improve speech clarity working from the sound level toward the word and phrase level.  Sound disorders often have a clear impact on reading and spelling development.

Language Therapy

Language is composed expressive language (what we say), receptive language (what we understand) and pragmatic language (social communication). Expressive language therapy targets expanding vocabulary, grammatical development, storytelling etc. Receptive language intervention targets following directions, understanding question forms, absurdities, categorization, language concepts, auditory and reading comprehension. Pragmatic language intervention targets such skills including; developing theory of mind, conversational skills, understanding idioms/multiple meanings, interpreting situations and developing inference in social situations and in text.

Myofunctional Therapy

Myofunctional Therapy addresses atypical and adaptive patterns within the oral facial complex.

• Swallowing- tongue thrust during swallow (reverse swallow)
• Resting posture - forward tongue posture /open mouth posture
• Sound development- distortion of sibilant sounds (s, z) and forward placement for t, d, n, l
• Chewing skills- weak , immature or uncoordinated
• Promotes balanced jaw growth, dentition and facial symmetry.

Early Reading Instruction- for struggling and dyslexic readers

We specialize in reading and spelling development using a Speech to Print approach . We target improving phonemic awareness skills, phoneme-grapheme mapping, handwriting, encoding, decoding, high frequency word recognition, word attack, vocabulary growth, morphology and reading comprehension skills.  Multisensory and explicit teaching approach grounded in the Science of Reading.  

Motor-Based Praxis Therapy

We are trained in Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing to address motor speech disorders. DTTC is a motor-based approach, meaning it is designed to improve the brain’s ability to plan and program movements for speech, which most experts believe is the underlying cause of Childhood Apraxia of Speech.

Play Therapy 

Play encourages speech, language, and social development within a natural environment. Turn-taking, sharing and generating ideas and sequences, assigning roles, initiating questions, requesting for needs functionally and joint attention are some of the skills that are targeted through play.

Social Skills Therapy

Social skills intervention supports children in using their language to better communicate their needs and ideas, understand the feelings of others, inference, use language for various functions and initiate and maintain communication and topics with others. We are trained in various programs including Social Thinking and are trained in Natural Language Acquisition (NLA) for Gestalt Language Learners. Sessions are held invidudually and in small groups when applicable and when children can be optimally matched.  

Feeding Therapy and Consultation

Feeding therapy/consultation services are specifically designed for children who experience difficulties chewing, swallowing, or accepting a variety of nutrient rich foods. These barriers often result in compromised nutrition and growth as well as family stress and resultant social implications. There are a variety of factors that can impact children from becoming competent feeders including feeding aversions, sensory processing challenges, food anxiety, immature chewing patterns, tethered tissues, counterproductive feeding practices and underlying medical issues including reflux, food allergies/intolerances, and other underlying gastrointestinal disorders.  

Lori addresses such difficulties by taking an extensive intake from family members and then looking closely at history, symptomology, feeding behaviors, emotional regulation, feeding skills and mealtime dynamics. Lori utilizes an eclectic approach when addressing feeding issues including but not limited to the Sequential Oral Sensory Approach (SOS), Food Chaining, Responsive Feeding, Satter’s Division of Responsibility, Behavioral Intervention, Desensitization, and Family Training. She works together with family members and caregivers. Feeding Therapy can be offered in the home or at our office.

Baby Led Weaning and Adapted Baby Led Weaning- Lori is skilled in assisting families transitioning their childen to solids in a safe and responsive manner. She provides support for families during this transition, taking into account the child's oral motor skill level, self feeding skills and interest. She provides clear guidance on food choices that will help to improve sensory motor skills, parent roles and mealtime structure.

Independent Educational Evaluation

Parents of a child with a disability have a right to obtain an independent educational evaluation (IEE) for their child at public expense subject to the conditions outlined in the following procedures. An Independent Educational Evaluation is an evaluation conducted by a qualified examiner who is not employed by the public agency responsible for the education of the child in question. We provide such evaluations and cover speech, language and literacy domains.