What is Speech Therapy?
Speech therapy focuses on helping individuals of all ages improve their communication skills. It is designed to diagnose and treat deficits in speech, language, fluency, voice, swallowing, cognition, and social communication.
How does Speech Therapy work?
Speech therapy involves using a variety of evidence-based interventions focusing on increasing receptive and expressive language, articulation, oral-motor control, feeding/swallowing, fluency, volume, and social skills. A trained speech-language pathologist (SLP) will evaluate your child to identify their strengths and weaknesses to gain a full understanding of their current communication skills. Their SLP will then create a personalized treatment plan for your child and identify appropriate areas for intervention to help your child grow their communication skills. Speech therapy sessions involve a speech therapist working one-on-one with your child using evidence-based intervention strategies. Sessions can vary in length and frequency depending on your child’s unique needs.
Our team is able to provide evaluations and treatment for a variety of concerns, including but not limited to:
- Receptive and Expressive Language Disorders
- Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
- Articulation and Phonological Disorders
- Social Skills
- Early Intervention
- Fluency Disorders
- Voice and Resonance Disorders
- Feeding challenges
Who is involved in Speech Therapy?
A Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) is a graduate-level certificate holder who has completed a master-level degree in speech-language pathology, at least 400 hours of supervised clinical experience during graduate school, and completed a 9-month full-time clinical fellowship experience under the mentorship and supervision of a certified SLP. Additionally, SLP’s must also pass a certification exam through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Upon completion of these requirements, the ASHA Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC-SLP) is awarded and they become a fully certified SLP. Additionally, SLP’s hold licensure within their state of practice. SLP’s also comply with the ASHA code of ethics and complete yearly continuing education units (CEU’s).
A Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA) is a support personnel who have completed a bachelor-level degree in speech-language pathology and at least 100 hours of clinical fieldwork fully supervised by an ASHA-certified SLP in addition to on-the-job training. SLPA’s perform tasks to support the clinical services provided by certified SLP’s. SLPA’s provide therapy services under the supervision of an ASHA certified and licensed SLP as well as assist with administrative and clinical tasks (preparing therapy materials, assisting the SLP during assessments, etc.)
At BAI, a collaborative team approach is used to provide each client with comprehensive and effective services to meet their unique needs. SLP’s at BAI have an understanding of ABA principles and techniques, so they are able to effectively collaborate with each child’s BCBA to incorporate their language and communication goals into their daily therapy programming. This collaborative interdisciplinary approach ensures that each child receives the highest quality services to help them reach their full potential.
Our collaborative approach also includes collaboration with families to ensure that the therapy plan meets the unique needs of each family. At BAI we strive to provide services that will lead to carryover into the child and family’s daily lives at home.
Devices and Tools
Are there any devices (like the AAC device) or other tools that are commonly used or recommended for use when it comes to speech?
Communication comes in many forms – not just vocal speech. For children who have not yet developed vocal speech, an Augmentative and Alternative Communication system may be needed to help them communicate effectively with others. These systems can range from low-tech (i.e. picture books, communication boards) to high-tech speech-generating devices. Our team at BAI has experience with evaluating each child’s unique needs to find the best communication system for them. Additionally, our BAI team has successfully obtained insurance funding for speech-generating devices for several clients in the past.
Intakes
The intake process for speech therapy consists of a meeting with an ASHA-certified SLP in which they will gather relevant history and background information and primary concerns from families, as well as a full evaluation of your child’s communication skills. Families are encouraged to be highly involved throughout the evaluation, intake, and therapy process.
Please bring a current copy of your insurance cards to your intake appointment.
For additional information or to inquire about scheduling an intake, please contact the BAI Front Desk at (765) 282-8222.
References and Resources
American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) https://www.asha.org