Speech Therapy
About Our Staff and Services
Our staff is carefully selected for their ability to connect with children as well as communicate with parents and is nationally and state certified. Our therapists are skilled in reaching children with behavioral difficulties as well as children diagnosed on the Autism spectrum. We believe in incorporating multi-sensory as well as vestibular activities to enhance results within treatment sessions as appropriate. Our Speech Therapists have specialty training in the diagnosis and treatment of childhood speech disorders, processing, articulation, oral-motor and feeding issues. We also offer consultation and training. Sensational Kids Speech Therapy services offer comprehensive diagnostic evaluation and treatment for children from infancy through adolescence.
Types of Speech Therapy Services
- Comprehensive Assessment
- Individual Therapy Sessions
- Social Skills Groups
- Parent Consultation and Training
- Training and Use: Augmentative Communication Devices
Our son has received speech therapy since he was diagnosed Autistic at the age of 2. We have had many speech therapies throughout the years and could did not find the right fit until now. Sensational Kids have an awesome Speech Therapy Department. Our son is doing much more now than he ever has and we are so thrilled with the progress that Sensational Kids has made for our son and our family.
-Ray and Cheryl
I love how my son can use the Sensory Gym during his speech therapy sessions. My therapist really knows how to tap into his strengths to bring out language. My son was recently diagnosed on the Autism spectrum so looking for help was daunting. We have finally found a home and resource in Sensational Kids.
-Cathleen Cherry Hill
$50 initial half hour consultation
(this is a $30 discount for all new clients)
Contact Us To Get Started
We treat these childhood communication, oral-motor and feeding issues:
- Overall Speech and Language delays in children: Infancy through adolescence
- Autism Spectrum language, speech, communication and social connection needs.
- Apraxia of speech (A disorder characterized by inability to speak, or a severe struggle to speak clearly.Apraxia of speech occurs when the oral- motor muscles do not or cannot obey commands from the brain, or when the brain cannot reliably send those commands).
- Expressive language delays (difficulty communicating with people through speaking and writing)
- Receptive language delays (understanding of information received through spoken or written communication)
- Articulation disorders (the ability to pronounce words correctly)
- Auditory processing disorders / Central Auditory Processing Disorder(CAPD) a disorder in how auditory information is processed in the brain.
- Language delays caused by recurrent ear infections.
- Oral sensory motor issues
- Feeding disorders Sensory and / or behavioral approach as appropriate for the child.
- Voice and resonance disorders
- Sematic Pragmatic language disorders
- Speech and comprehension issues pertaining to traumatic and acquired brain injury
Assessing your child s needs
The focus of our assessments is to observe your child in order to understand the source and extent of the speech and / or language delay, an important first step in getting your child help. . Initial evaluations usually take up to 1 hours. During this time the therapist will talk with you about your concerns and rule out causes for the delay. The assessment itself is individualized and may involve play-based or tabletop activities or standardized testing, depending upon the age of your child, the type of evaluation requested as well your child s ability to participate. Test results, observations and recommendations will be discussed with you.
Treatment
Parents can opt to start therapy without a full evaluation. A current speech-language evaluation report or therapy progress report from another agency or school will also be accepted. Copies of reports from school IEP/IFSP, other therapist s report, clinic reports and hearing evaluations are helpful. This information helps the clinician determine the most appropriate treatment plan for your child. On the first visit the focus will be understanding your concerns as well as your specific goals for your child. Evaluation results will be reviewed and our Speech Therapist will spend more time establishing a trust relationship with your child. If not already formulated, a treatment plan will be reviewed with the parent and goals will be established. Periodic progress reports will also be provided. Parents are encouraged to be a part of their child s treatment program through active participation. Verbal and / or written carry-over will be provided to the parent at the end of each session. This is beneficial if the child performs better without the parent in session.
Warning Signs of Speech & Language Delays
Differentiating between speech and language
It is important to distinguish between speech and language. Speech includes articulation (the way words are formed) and is the verbal expression of language. Language refers to receiving and expressing information in a meaningful way, understanding as well as being understood through verbal, nonverbal and written communication. Some children might be able to pronounce words well but has difficulty putting words together while another child might be difficult to understand despite using words or phrases. Other children have difficulty following directions despite speaking well.
Early Detection of Speech and Language difficulty
Spoken language is at the core of interaction and participation in the classroom, at home as well as socially. Speech and language problems can interfere with many aspects of a child s development, learning as well as self esteem. Difficulty with language can also be an early indication that a child might later struggle with other academic issues such as reading, learning and writing. Early identification and treatment of speech and language problems is therefore important.
Some early signs of language difficulty in 12-24 month old child:
- Delayed or absent response to sound
- Minimal or no vocalization
- Limited or no use of gestures (by 12 months)
- Preferring gestures over vocalizations to communicate (18 months)
- Difficulty imitating sounds (18 months)
- Limited or absence in putting two words together (24 months)
Some early signs of language development difficulty in the child 24 months or older:
- Difficulty producing words or phrases spontaneously, prefers to only imitate speech or actions
- Says only certain sounds or phrases repeatedly while having difficulty using oral language to communicate for more than immediate needs
- Difficulty following simple directions
- Unusual tone of voice
- Appears to be more difficult to understand than other children his / her age.
- Parents and caregivers have difficulty understanding at least half of child s speech (2 years)
- Parents and caregivers have difficulty understanding at least three quarters of child s speech (3 y)
- Familiar and unfamiliar adults should be able to understand all language of a 4 year old.
Some indicators of speech and language difficulty in the classroom:
- Difficulty speaking or listening at age appropriate level
- Trouble responding aloud to teacher / parent questions about a story just heard
- Difficulty following spoken instructions during classroom assignments.
- Difficulty expressing thoughts fluently in words
- Difficulty finding the exact word looking for to describe thoughts
- Appearing inattentive when spoken to.
- Appearing to hear only parts of what is said
- Difficulty comprehending directions
Call Us Now For More Information: 856-810-5777
Or email us at Office@sensationalkidsllc.com