Autism

We can help children, adolescents and adults acquire functional language and other life skills utilizing Applied Behavior Analysis with an emphasis in Verbal Behavior. Evidence-based behavior analytic services are our foundation to teaching learners with autism and other developmental disabilities. We do this through face-to-face services with learners and ongoing training of family and staff members. The procedures we use are derived from the literature of applied behavior analysis (ABA) and based on the works of B.F. Skinner and other prominent, well-published behavior analysts. Many of the children with whom we work make significant language gains ranging from learning to ask for things they want (manding) to speaking conversationally. In addition to targeting an increase in language skills, we also work carefully to reduce any excessive problem (maladaptive) behaviors the child may be exhibiting. By teaching the child's parents and teachers how to reduce and prevent these behaviors while simultaneously teaching appropriate alternative (adaptive) behaviors, we strive to enhance the child's future by improving motivation, communication, interaction, learning, and independence.

Articulation Therapy and Assessment

We can help children, adolescents and adults with difficulty producing speech sounds and improve their overall intelligibility. Articulation delays and disorders can vary from mild substitutions to multiple sound misarticulations. Articulation refers to speech sound production. Sounds that are misarticulated call attention to how the speaker sounds rather than to what he/she is discussing. Misarticulations can include one or more of the following:

• Substitutions: when a different sound is produced instead of the correct sound
• Omissions: the sound is left out of the word
• Distortions: the sound is produced with improper use of airflow or oral mechanics

Young children are frequently enrolled in articulation therapy to improve their communication skills and improve intelligibility to others.

Language Therapy and Assessment

We can help children, adolescents and adults who have delayed vocabulary and syntax/grammar or other language disorders. Language therapy covers a wide range of services. Delayed language in infants and toddlers is one aspect of a therapy program. School-age children may have a specific language impairment, which affects their ability to comprehend reading and other academic material. These children may have effective functional and conversational language but have difficulty with language processing or defining, describing or understanding the vocabulary associated with math, science and other reading comprehension concepts. Adults may have a need for therapy following a stroke that has impaired their ability to use language and speech in the manner utilized prior to the vascular incident. Language therapy may also be necessary for individuals because of autism, developmental delay, hearing loss, closed head injury, adult neurogenic communication disorders, or traumatic brain injury.

Auditory Comprehension and Processing Deficits.

We can help children, adolescents and adults who have difficulty understanding spoken language, particularly word meaning, sequencing skills, and problem solving. Language processing is the ability to attach linguistic meaning of increased complexity to auditory information that is received and to then formulate a response (Richard, 2001). Children with language processing difficulties do not have difficulty hearing and they have normal/near normal basic receptive/expressive language skills. The auditory information is received accurately however the child has difficulty attaching meaning to it as the linguistic difficulty of the task increases.

Pragmatic Language Disorders

We can help children, adolescents and adults who cannot use language properly in social contexts, such as greeting others, introducing conversation, making eye contact, modulating voice tone, and using proper body language. Pragmatic language refers to language in its social sense. It involves not only what is said but also why and for what purpose it is said. Individuals may have good linguistic ability and be able to use a variety of sentence structures that are syntactically, morphologically and semantically correct, but lack the ability to monitor when to most effectively and appropriately use them. Speech/Language Therapy and ABA Instruction are designed to help the individuals learn how to use language socially.

Apraxia

We can help children, adolescents, and adults whose nervous system affects the ability to sequence, and say sounds, syllables, and words which is not due to muscular weakness or paralysis. Apraxia of speech is a motor-speech programming disorder resulting in difficulty executing and/or coordinating (sequencing) the oral-motor movements necessary to produce and combine speech sounds (phonemes) to form syllables, words, phrases and sentences on voluntary (rather than only reflexive) control. Many children are able to hear words, and are able to understand what they mean, but they cannot change what they hear into the fine-motor skill of combining consonants and vowels to form words. Apraxia of speech is usually treatable with the appropriate, discrete and systematic techniques. It is not just a simple articulation disorder or a phonological disorder. Traditional therapy techniques are usually unsuccessful.

Fluency (Stuttering) Disorders

We can help children, adolescents and adults whose speech fluency interrupts the forward flow of speech. A fluency disorder is a "speech disorder" characterized by disruptions in smoothness, rhythm, and continuity of sounds, syllables, words or syntactic language units during speaking. Dysfluencies in speech are more commonly referred to as stuttering. The most common Dysfluencies include prolongations, repetitions, and blocks. The individual's rate of speech, as well as the frequency and duration of their dysfluencies are assessed. The therapy process then focuses on reduction and/or control of these disruptions. Each individual has attitudes toward their speech dysfluencies that are discussed and evaluated as part of the therapy process. The goal is to help the individual manage and/or control their speech to gain fluency. Secondary characteristics during speaking are also addressed to reduce or eliminate their occurrence. Some identified characteristics may be tongue clicks, loss of eye contact, facial grimaces, hand movements, lip tension, jaw tension and other body and facial movements. All aspects of the disorder are carefully addressed in therapy and in the evaluation process.

Language Based Learning Disabilities

We can help children, adolescents and adults who struggle either with the ability to interpret what they see and hear or to link information from different parts of the brain. These limitations can show up in many ways: as specific difficulties with spoken and written language, coordination, self-control, or attention. Such difficulties extend to schoolwork and can impede learning to read, write, or do math. Language-based learning disabilities are problems with age-appropriate reading, spelling, and/or writing. This disorder is not about how smart a person is. Most people diagnosed with learning disabilities have average to superior intelligence. For signs and symptoms of a language-based learning disability, please go to: http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/LBLD.htm