What do you do in speech therapy?
Speech therapy is specifically tailored to meet the needs of each child. In general, therapy for toddlers and young children looks a lot like play. It often involves use of common toys (e.g., cars, balls, puzzles, Play-doh (TM), baby dolls and other make-believe play objects). Speech and language skills are taught in a natural and meaningful way. The environment may also be manipulated to give the child more of a "reason" to communicate (e.g., placing objects out of reach, or in tightly closed containers so the child has to ask for help). For older children, therapy is usually more formal and structured, to target more specific aspects of speech and language. However, this is still done in a fun and motivating context.

Do you accept insurance payment?
I do not accept insurance payments directly. However, if speech therapy services are covered by your insurance, I assist in getting the reimbursement owed to you by providing all necessary paperwork (reports, progress notes, etc.).

What is the difference between "speech" and "language?"
Language is a general term which includes any form of commonly recognizable communicative acts. This can be in the form of speaking, writing, using sign language, or gestures. It includes subcomponents such as vocabulary, grammar, and pragmatics (social appropriateness). "Receptive language" refers to how we understand, or comprehend, language. "Expressive language" refers to how we send messages to other people. Disorders of language include: receptive and/or expressive language disorder, aphasia, language processing disorder, and specific language impairment.

Speech refers to the specific act of verbalizing. Components of speech include articulation, inflection, loudness, voice quality (e.g., hoarse, hyper nasal), fluency (e.g., stuttering), and speaking rate. Disorders of speech include: articulation disorder, phonological disorder, apraxia, dysarthria, stuttering, cluttering, and voice disorder.