Evaluations are an invaluable tool in determining your child's current level of communicative ability, need for speech therapy, and relevant goals for treatment. If your child has never been evaluated, this service will be a necessary step in the beginning of the speech therapy process. I use a combination of formal and informal measures to assess your child's speech and language skills. Depending on your child's age, I may ask you to get involved, so I can see how your child interacts with the person with whom they are most comfortable!

 

Evaluations last longer than typical therapy sessions and may be completed over the course of several sessions. I ask the parent/caregiver to complete a questionnaire prior to the evaluation, and we will spend time at the completion of the evaluation discussing my observations and recommendations. A full written evaluation report will be available, if requested.  

My main office is on Main Street in Beacon, NY, offering speech therapy sessions Monday - Wednesday from 9 AM - 6PM. I also contract with The Sensory Space in Poughkeepsie, NY, seeing clients in their office space and/or sensory gym on Thursdays. Parent involvement remains critical, even in an office setting; however, separation from the home environment and access to sensory based materials and experiences can be beneficial for building engagement and joint attention (i.e., the shared focus or attention on an object or experience with another person). 

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My child-centered approach remains consistent across settings; please reach out if you're interested in learning more about the differences between in-home and clinic-based speech therapy. 

A child's home environment is often where they are most comfortable and where all of their "treasures" are found. While I will be using my own materials, I often prefer to engage with the child's own toys and environment, as to create more child-directed and interest driven therapy; thus, making your home the perfect setting for our sessions. I also highly encourage parent participation in sessions, as to promote carry-over and generalization into a child's everyday routine. Based on my own evaluation or observations and your child's previously recommended services, as well as your input, we will discuss the frequency and duration of sessions to best fit your child's needs. 

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Additionally, I believe that a team approach is the only approach to help your child succeed- I welcome contact with your child's school or daycare to ensure consistency and collaboration! 

The world has shifted quite a bit, and speech therapy has shifted with it! I have quickly jumped into the world of online speech therapy (teletherapy) and found, much to my surprise, that so much can be practiced and accomplished over the screen. I now offer online speech therapy sessions during this time to support your child, if in-person speech therapy is not possible.

 

This is new for everyone, so please feel free to contact me with any questions or to learn what this looks like!

Parent/caregiver involvement is a key component of speech therapy and necessary in the growth of a child's communication development. No one knows their child better than you; with support and training, you can learn specific strategies and approaches to help you more effectively communicate with, read to, play with, and respond to your child in order to support their communication and language development!

 

While parent training is incorporated into typical speech therapy sessions and services, I offer additional parent/caregiver only sessions to provide support in the use of specific and individualized strategies; if you have friends who are also looking for support on how to effectively communicate with and support their children, group parent/caregiver sessions are also available! 

Communication is at the core of a child's education, and children spend the majority of their day at school. I offer consultations and professional development for schools looking to support individual students with communication challenges or to provide continuing education for staff relating to how speech and language skills impact a child's academic, social, and emotional development.

 

These trainings include, but are not limited to: phonological awareness and literacy skills, supporting communication skills in young children, problem solving and play development, using visuals to facilitate comprehension, generalizing communication goals in the classroom, and more. I highly value partnerships with schools and love nothing more than supporting dedicated educators in the classroom.