Services

Screenings

Screenings are offered free of charge to identify potential speech and/or language deficits.

Screening procedures include observations, informal data collection, time to screen and review results with the client's parent/guardian to determine if further evaluation is recommended.

Evaluations

Evaluations include assessment administration, scoring, interpretation, and a written report.

If your child has been evaluated within the past year, the cost of the evaluation may be waived

Individual Therapy

50 minute sessions

25 minute sessions

*Therapy sessions are available in person or via tele-practice

Helping Your Child Grow

Speech therapy at Blooming Communicators can help your child grow in the following areas:

Intelligibility/Speech Sounds

Is your child's speech difficult to understand? Difficulty with intelligibility (speech clarity) may be caused by one or multiple reasons. Depending on the reason, if it’s treated using the wrong approach, progress will be slow or even stagnant!

At Blooming Communicators, we provide skilled therapy to address:

Childhood Apraxia of Speech
Phonological Disorders
Articulation Disorders
"R" Therapy

Ms. Crystal provides a detailed and thorough assessment to determine the true nature of your child’s difficulty with speaking clearly. Additionally, Ms. Crystal is listed on the Apraxia Kids Directory as a skilled provider in treating Childhood Apraxia of Speech.

Ms. Crystal is also able to identify and treat co-occurring language impairments/delays.

Gestalt Language Processing

Has your verbal autistic child been in traditional speech therapy for years with slow to minimal progress? Does your child "script" or use "delayed echolalia" heard from movies, music, or other speakers? If so, your child could be a gestalt language processor. Gestalt language processing is a different way of processing spoken language in which the communicator uses chunks of language to represent their thoughts, which may not be conveyed literally by the words that they say. Even more interesting, traditional speech therapy methods don't work for these communicators. They require a treatment approach based on the natural language acquisition framework,* where their "scripts" or "gestalts" are broken down and developed into spontaneous, self-generated language.

Ms. Crystal is listed on the Meaningful Speech Registry as a clinician who is skilled and educated in the Natural Language Acquisition framework and gestalt language processing.

*Based on the work of Marge Blanc, Dr. Barry Priazant, and Anne Peters

AAC

AAC stands for Augmentative & Alternative Communication

Do any of these scenarios apply to you or your child?

My child was approved for a communication device, but I'm not sure how to program it or use it at home
My child is hard to understand and is FRUSTRATED when we can’t figure out what he needs
My child is non-speaking. I just wish I knew what she was thinking!

Ms. Crystal is skilled in taking your child step by step in learning how to use their communication device. Our treatment approach involves getting your child's "buy-in" for using the device and then focuses on growing their vocabulary for powerful strong communicative words called "core vocabulary". Additionally, parents are also trained on important implementation techniques that support your child's growth and independence.

Gestalt Language Processing and AAC

AAC can be beneficial for non-speaking or minimally speaking autistic children. Many autistic children are gestalt language processors and this is also true for those who do not use verbal speech as their primary mode of communication. Ms. Crystal can help you determine if your child is a gestalt language processor and help guide you on how to implement AAC with a non-speaking or minimally speaking gestalt language processor.