How we address it

Speech and Language Evaluations

Our evaluation services are tailored to assess your child’s specific needs in the areas of communication, feeding, and speech development. Conducted by highly qualified speech-language pathologists, each assessment provides valuable insights into the best path forward for your child if they’re experiencing difficulties in any of the following areas: 

Articulation/Phonemic Awareness  

Articulation and phonology focus on how sounds are produced and used in speech. A child with an articulation disorder may struggle to form specific speech sounds correctly, while a child with a phonological disorder can produce the sounds but uses them in incorrect contexts. Speech sound development follows a predictable order, and it is natural for some errors to occur during early childhood. However, if your child’s speech remains unclear when peers are speaking intelligibly, a professional evaluation with a licensed speech-language pathologist is critical. These evaluations can identify patterns affecting your child’s speech and help develop a personalized treatment plan.  

Auditory Processing  

Auditory processing pertains to how the brain interprets sounds. Children with auditory processing issues may struggle to distinguish or make sense of sounds in noisy environments. They might also misunderstand spoken instructions or need frequent repetitions. Our auditory processing evaluations assess how your child processes and comprehends sounds. These assessments include specialized tests to determine any deficits in areas such as sound discrimination, memory, and sequencing. While identifying an auditory processing disorder is reserved specifically for a licensed audiologist, uncovering these challenges early can lead to interventions that improve communication and learning in structured and dynamic settings.  

Multi-disciplinary Developmental Evaluations  

Our multi-disciplinary team collaborates to conduct comprehensive evaluations that assess your child’s overall developmental functioning, including language, motor, cognitive, and social-emotional skills. This approach ensures a holistic understanding of your child’s strengths and needs, allowing for targeted and effective intervention strategies. These are completed in tandem with a licensed psychologist at our clinic. 

Receptive/Expressive Language Evaluations 

Receptive/expressive language evaluations assess how your child expresses themselves and interacts with others. This includes verbal communication (the words and sentences used), auditory comprehension (how your child understands what is said to them), non-verbal communication (gestures, eye contact, facial expressions), and social communication (context-appropriate interactions). Difficulties in communication may affect a child’s ability to build relationships or succeed in school. Our evaluations identify areas of concern and provide a roadmap for improving your child’s ability to understand, connect and express their ideas effectively.  

Oral Movement for Speech and Eating  

Oral motor function is critical for speech clarity and feeding success. Differences in the strength, coordination, or movement of the lips, tongue, and jaw can interfere with articulation, swallowing, and chewing. During evaluations, we assess your child’s oral structures and assess their movements to determine whether motor challenges are contributing to speech or feeding difficulties. Observations guide the development of targeted interventions to improve oral functions.  

Phonological Awareness/Phonological Processing  

Phonological awareness is the foundation of reading and writing. This skill involves understanding how words can be broken down into smaller sound units (like syllables and phonemes) and manipulating these sounds. Children with phonological processing difficulties may struggle with early literacy skills, such as rhyming, blending sounds, or decoding words when reading. Our evaluations identify areas where your child may benefit from support and tailored interventions to build these essential literacy skills.  

Voice and Fluency  

Voice evaluations focus on the quality, pitch, and volume of the voice, while fluency evaluations address stuttering or other disruptions in speech flow. A child with voice challenges may have a hoarse or strained voice, while a child with disfluencies may repeat words or sounds, prolong certain sounds, or experience blocks in speech. Our skilled team assesses these concerns comprehensively to guide therapy that supports confident and natural communication.  

Speech Therapy Treatments

Feeding Therapy Intervention 

Our feeding therapists address complex feeding difficulties through a variety of different evidence-based interventions and skill sets including: Sequential Oral Sensory Approach™ (SOS), Feed the Peds®, Food Chaining and lactation assistance. This therapy is ideal for children facing challenges such as food aversion, medical feeding needs, or chewing and swallowing difficulties. Families receive tailored guidance and strategies to improve feeding patterns and enhance mealtime success.  

The SOS Approach addresses feeding difficulties by integrating sensory, oral-motor, and behavioral interventions. Children participate in a structured program that introduces new foods in a playful, unpressured way. This method is ideal for children who have sensory-based food aversions or extremely selective eating habits.  

Food chaining is a method of introducing new foods to picky eaters, building off of foods that they already eat. It is based on the child’s preferences for texture, taste, temperature, color and appearance of foods. Parents are provided with food choices to offer the child. They then analyze the child’s response to the new foods and alter the food or chain as required.  

Feed the Peds® is a comprehensive feeding course designed to provide speech-language pathologists with a dynamic skill set rooted in childhood development. Skills from this training are used in our feeding therapy interventions. 

Our therapists provide lactation support to overcome a variety of different breastfeeding or bottle feeding challenges. This is ideal for babies who may lack the ability to sustain a latch to coordinate their sucking, swallowing and breathing to efficiently transfer milk. 

Oral Strengthening and Development for Structural and Functional Differences 

Velopharyngeal Insufficiency (VPI) is used to describe an anatomical or structural defect that prevents adequate velopharyngeal closure. These children may demonstrate sound differences and abnormal placement of speech sounds. This is oftentimes seen in children with cleft lip or cleft palate. Speech therapy for these children is targeted in correcting sound placement errors due to the structural difference.  

A cheek tie refers to abnormal mucosal adhesion stretching from the gums to the cheek. A tongue tie restricts the tongue from full range of motion. A lip tie can restrict the lips from typical closure and/or movement. All can be associated with interference with breastfeeding and typical oral development. Therapeutic intervention for these presentations encompasses tissue stretches, positional feeding changes and other strategies. Additional referrals to a specialized dentist, ENT and/or oral surgeon for further evaluation may be considered. 

PROMPT©  

PROMPT therapy focuses on speech-motor planning and coordination. Using tactile-kinesthetic cues, therapists guide the movements needed for specific sounds, words, and phrases. This approach is especially effective for children with motor speech disorders, such as apraxia of speech.  

Hanen Program – It Takes Two to Talk®  

This internationally recognized program empowers parents of children with a language delay. Families participate in interactive sessions led by a certified speech-language pathologist, where they learn practical strategies to promote communication during every day routines and activities. Parents are coached to create language-rich interactions that foster their child’s speech, understanding, and confidence.  

Kaufman Techniques  

The Kaufman Speech to Language Protocol (K-SLP) is an evidence-based approach for children with apraxia or other speech disorders. It focuses on teaching children to produce simplified versions of words to build their communication skills over time. This structured method is ideal for improving functional speech in early learners.  

Pragmatic/Social Language 

Communication is a deeply social activity. Pragmatic language intervention is designed for children who need support navigating various social interactions. This can be conducted in one-on-one sessions or through social skills groups. Our social skills groups are led by speech-language pathologists using real-world scenarios and interactive role-playing to practice conversational skills, problem-solving, and cooperative play.  

Natural Language Acquisition (NLA) 

The Natural Language Acquisition (NLA) framework is a way in which to describe the progression of language development for Gestalt Language Processors (GLPs). Gestalt Language Processors initially assign an overall feeling to a word, phrase, or sentence. These words, phrases, and sentences are called gestalts. These gestalts are commonly known as “echolalia” or “scripting.” They can be spoken as an immediate response, a delayed response (such as hours or days later), or both. Gestalt Language Processing is a natural method of language acquisition with distinct developmental milestones. This type of therapy is geared towards connection, movement and child-directed play. 

Low Tech/High Tech Assistive Technology 

Low tech assistive technology refers to simple, non-electronic tools that support individuals in their daily activities. Examples of low tech assistive technology include: picture supports, communication boards and visual schedules. 

High tech assistive technology is typically more complex and electronic in nature. These are typically devices or software applications to ease interaction within environments. Some examples of high tech assistive technology include: Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices, related AAC applications and eye tracking systems. 

Augmentative Communication Device Training  

For children who benefit from technology-assisted communication, we offer training on devices such as speech-generating tools and AAC apps. While some resources are quite simple to use, others can seem more complicated and daunting. Our team of therapists are trained to guide families and children on usage and integration into daily life, helping to enhance quality of life and communication independence.  

Learn More

Selective Mutism 

This refers to when a child has difficulty speaking in certain situations or to certain people, often due to anxiety. Our multi-disciplinary team works together to provide intervention in this area that focuses on becoming more comfortable speaking in different conversational contexts, using various techniques.  

Stuttering/Cluttering and Other Fluency Disorders 

Treatment goals for fluency disorders revolves around a holistic approach, considering the extent to which the child’s dysfluencies affects their overall communication experience. This therapy is ideal for those who stutter, clutter or have any other interruption in the flow of speaking. 

Voice Therapy 

Intervention for vocal differences is conducted to achieve improved voice production and coordination of breathing and valving. This type of therapy is best for children with structural differences (i.e. vocal nodules) and functional differences resulting from inefficient use of the vocal mechanism (i.e. vocal fatigue, muscle tension etc.)