Speech & Language Therapy
Speech Therapy Services
Speech & Language Therapy works to evaluate, diagnose, and treat disorders having to do with language, speech, social interaction, comprehension, and overall communication skills. We provide services for children ages 6 months to 18 years of age. In addition, we provide Early Intervention services for children ages 6 months to 3 years old through the state of IL. Follow the link below for additional information about Early Intervention Services.
Should my child get services?
Parents or caregivers might seek out speech and language therapy services for their child for a variety of reasons including delays in expression or comprehension of sound and words, difficulty playing or communicating with other children, reduced eye contact and engagement with parents/caregivers or peers, delays in milestones, struggles with following directions, producing speech sound errors, and other concerns the parents might have. Contact us today and one of our one of our certified Chicago speech-language pathologists will happily go over your concerns and make a recommendation for an evaluation or therapy services
Schedule your free phone consultation, or complete our get started form to be connected with a therapist today. While you wait, you can review and complete one of the developmental milestones.
Common Diagnoses Treated in Speech and/or Language Therapy
- Articulation Disorder
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- Central Auditory Processing Disorder
- Cerebral Palsy
- Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS)
- Developmental Delays
- Down Syndrome
- Dysarthria
- Expressive Language Delays
- Intellectual Disability
- Late Language Emergence
- Learning Disabilities
- Pediatric Dysphagia (swallowing difficulties)
- Pediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD)
- Reading Disorders
- Receptive Language Delays
- Speech and Language Delays
- Speech Sound Disorders
- Social Communication Disorder
- Written Language Disorders
Specialized Treatments & Methods of Therapy
PROMPT Therapy
PROMPT Therapy is a unique philosophy and approach to assessment and treatment of speech delays or disorders. PROMPT is an acronym for Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets. This technique utilizes a tactile-kinesthetic approach that uses touch cues to client’s articulators (jaw, tongue, lips) to manually guide them through a targeted sound, word, phrase or sentence.
The technique develops motor control and aids in the development of proper oral muscular movements. Our therapists are trained in the PROMPT method and they work with the family and the client to create a specialized treatment plan to help your child plan, coordinate, and produce speech sounds. If you are concerned with your child’s speech sound production or delays with speech development, please contact us to connect with one of our PROMPT trained therapists. Watch the video below to learn more about PROMPT therapy.
OPT
Oral-Placement Therapy (OPT) is a tactile-proprioceptive technique in addition to traditional speech treatment methods. Therapists utilize this technique for clients with motor and/or sensory impairments in order to improve client’s speech and/or feeding skills.
OPT clients learn proper placement of oral structures for speech sound imitation by participating in activities targeting jaw, lips, and tongue movement and strength. OPT teaches oal structural placement to clients who struggle imitating speech sounds using traditional speech therapy methods such as providing visual and auditory input. Learn more about OPT by watching the video below.
SOS
SOS stands for Sequential-Oral- Sensory Approach to Feeding. It also stands for Save Our Ship! Our therapists are trained in this specialized feeding approach that assesses and addresses all the underlying causes of feeding difficulties in children. This method focuses on increasing a child’s comfort level with a variety of foods by exploring and learning about different food properties.
Here are six major “Steps to Eating” – Eating does not begin at the mouth! First, we must tolerate the physical presence or the look of the food. This might even include just being in the same room as the food. Then, perhaps, we can interact with the food without directly touching the food to your skin, maybe by using a kitchen utensil like a mini food chopper or a fork. Next, our body needs to process and manage the smell or odor of a food. The play then expands to include touching the food with your fingers, hands, body, and mouth. Think about that baby first learning to eat! Tasting comes next, which might look like quickly poking the food with the tip of your tongue, or maybe putting the food in your mouth, and spitting it out. Finally, we are ready to practice chewing and swallowing.
Inquire about speech therapy services for your child
Get started by answering a few questions and a memeber of our team will follow up with you.
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
Functional Speech Therapy provides evaluations, implementation support and tools, consulting for caregivers and school personnel, as well as training for clients and families of clients who use AAC. AAC is used by individuals who have difficulty producing oral speech due to speech or language deficits. AAC can help augment or supplement their communication, or serve as an alternative method to communicate. When implemented correctly, technology can enhance your child’s communication skills, reduce your child’s frustrations, and help your child communicate their needs and wants. The goal of AAC is to achieve the most effective communication possible for the individual in order to maximize their potential and improve their quality of life.
Individuals who may benefit from AAC therapy require assistive technology such as Speech Generating Devices (SGDs). Speech-generating devices are hand-held devices that play pre-recorded words, phrases, and sentences when the individuals press the button or touch a switch to activate the message. Our therapists are trained to work with companies who provide SGD to individuals. We work with different companies who create SGD and AAC tools such as Saltillo Corporation, Prentke Romich Company, Tobii Technology, Dynavox, Lingraphica, and more. Some clients may benefit from AAC applications which can be loaded to a tablet or iPad. Your therapist will help you learn about what is the best option for your child based on their evaluation results and your child’s needs.
AAC Consulting
Functional Speech Therapy also provides AAC consulting services for evaluations, programming devices, training your child’s entire team to feel confident when using AAC, collaboration on communication goals and targets, troubleshooting why a child is not successful with his/her current AAC tool, and to support proper implementation of AAC devices or applications. Work one-on-one with one of our AAC specialists to maximize your child’s communication potential.
Contact Mariana today to schedule your FREE AAC consultation.