Electric City Therapy
OUR SERVICES
Speech therapy is a positive and effective tool for patients of all ages. Whether identified as a need in the infant and toddler stages, as a teen or young adult, or even as a mature adult and one moving into the senior years of life, speech therapy services can provide life-changing benefits.
Free Phone Consultation
If you have any communication concerns, we would love to talk with you over the phone. Our phone consultations are free and will allow us to discuss your concerns.
DIAGNOSIS
& Evaluation
We conduct comprehensive speech and language evaluations utilizing a variety of the most current standardized and non-standardized tools. Determining the need for therapy services will be different between adults and children as the common signs and symptoms may vary. While children are normally identified for treatment during their growth and development; for an adult, an evaluation and diagnosis may follow an illness or injury, or become necessary due to the effects of aging.
Treatment
Our treatment plans are specialized to each individual’s diagnosis. We can provide therapy for a range of speech, language and communication difficulties. Therapy sessions are offered in our clinic or at your child’s school (per allowing circumstances).
EASy AS 1..2..3..
PEDIATRIC SPEECH LANGUAGE THERAPY
We are committed to helping our young clients achieve their communication goals! Pediatric speech-language therapy helps children from birth through 21 years of age to communicate effectively by assisting with the improvement of their verbal and non-verbal communication skills. Children may require speech-language therapy with or without the presence of a medical condition. We provide consultation, assessment, therapy, and caregiver training services for children of all ages.
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We assess and treat:
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Speech Production (speech sound development, articulation, phonology)
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Motor Speech (apraxia, dysarthria)
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Stuttering
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Pre-linguistic/Play skills (e.g., delayed language, “late talkers”)
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Receptive Language (understanding words, following directions, answering questions, etc.)
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Expressive Language (talking, vocabulary use, sentence structure)
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Early Literacy (alphabet, phonics, blending/segmenting sounds, rhyming)
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Literacy (reading fluency, reading comprehension, spelling, writing)
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Social skills (pragmatics)
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Cognitive skills (memory, attention, processing)
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Communication is essential to a child’s ability to learn about and interact with others in the world around him/her. Your child is one-of-a-kind, and his or her developmental needs are unique. That’s why you deserve a therapist that meets you right where you are and gives you answers to your questions about your child’s specific challenges. Our ECT therapists work with each child and their family, providing parents and other caregivers with the education and techniques needed to participate in the treatment process. We will evaluate a child’s current communication skills and compare them with what is developmentally appropriate for the child’s age group. Your child’s speech-language therapy should begin sooner rather than later. Growing in the ability to interact with others, speak, read and write with confidence will lead to more success in school and in social settings.
ADULT SPEECH LANGUAGE THERAPY
Adult speech-language therapy helps people ages 21+ to rebuild skills or regain confidence with communication. From the time you wake up in the morning to the time you go to sleep at night, you spend the majority of your day communicating. Whether it is through speaking, writing, reading, or listening, you are constantly engaged in activities that are linguistically and cognitively demanding. For many, understanding what people say or using language to express yourself seems like second nature. However, millions of Americans suffer from speech and language disorders that make these tasks challenging.
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Adults may seek speech-language therapy after stroke, when diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease such as Parkinson’s disease or dementia, as well as to improve articulation and fluency. ECT speech-language pathologists can help you with the following.
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Help you return to work after a stroke
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Prevent or repair communication breakdown in conversation with family and friends.
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Establish and successfully implement strategies to strengthen your memory skills
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Analyze current communication skills and teach you how to use an AAC device
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Help improve your fluency, such as stuttering disorders.
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We assess and treat:
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Speech Production (speech sound development, articulation, phonology)
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Motor Speech (apraxia, dysarthria)
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Stuttering
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Auditory Comprehension (understanding words, following directions, answering questions, etc.)
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Verbal Expression (aphasia, vocabulary, oral narrative skills)
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Literacy (reading fluency, reading comprehension, spelling, writing)
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Social skills (pragmatics)
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Cognitive skills (memory, attention, processing)
SCHOOL SERVICES
“All children and young people are entitled to an appropriate education, one that is appropriate to their needs and enables them to achieve their best.”
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Our dedicated speech and language therapists are able to provide speech and language therapy services tailored to the identified needs of your educational institution with a consistently high quality speech and language therapy service. We are able to provide your education institution with:
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Immediate access to a broad range of speech and language therapy services that are flexible, consistent and competitively priced.
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A bespoke speech and language therapy that is tailored to each school’s individual needs and each child’s individual needs.
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A holistic view of the school and the children.
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Immediate access to a speech therapist that is able to dedicate their time solely to your school.
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Our speech and language therapy services at ECT can be delivered on a short-term or long-term basis.
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Speech and language screenings to help identify children with communication difficulties.
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Assessment and diagnosis of speech and language disorders.
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Intervention for both individual and group sessions.
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Next steps … Arrange a free initial discussion.
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We provide free initial discussions to education settings as part of our service. We will be able to discuss the specific services we will be able to provide to support each education settings needs. This will enable us to provide an accurate quote for our speech and language therapy service.
ATTENDING IEP MEETINGS
Need help navigating IEP meetings at your child’s school? IEP meetings can be long and extremely overwhelming. An ECT therapist can review IEP documents and attend your child’s meeting with you to ensure all speech and language therapy services for your child are being implemented properly.
PROMPT
P.R.O.M.P.T. (Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets) is a tactile-kinesthetic approach that uses touch cues to a client’s articulators (jaw, tongue, lips) to guide them through targeted words, phrases or sentences. This helps patients develop motor control while eliminating unnecessary muscle movements (i.e., jaw sliding, inadequate lip rounding, etc.). Therapists use special hand cues (called prompts) to show patients the correct sequence of articulatory movements, and to help them achieve the correct sequence of movements independently. For more information on P.R.O.M.P.T., please visit: http://promptinstitute.com.
Debra Beckman-Oral Motor Protocol
Debra Beckman-Oral Motor Protocol is an assessment and treatment tool used to determine and treat oral motor delays and disorders. Intervention provides assisted movement to activate muscle movements and build oral strength. The focus of these interventions is to increase oral response to pressure and movement, range, strength, variety and control of movement to the lips, cheeks, jaw and tongue. For more information on Beckman-Oral Motor, please visit: http://www.beckmanoralmotor.com.
The Kaufman Speech to Language Protocol
The Kaufman Speech to Language Protocol (K-SLP) is a proven treatment approach for children with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), other speech sound disorders, and expressive language challenges. This treatment strategy was developed by Nancy Kaufman, M.A. CCC-SLP, who is a leading expert in the treatment of children with developmental apraxia of speech. The K-SLP focuses upon the child’s speech-motor skills, shaping the consonants, vowels and syllable shapes/gestures from what they are capable of producing toward higher levels of speech-motor coordination, giving them a functional avenue by which to become an effective vocal communicator.
COMPLETE SPEECH
The SmartPalate System, a biofeedback tool with electropalatography, does what no other tool can by creating a digital visualization of how your tongue functions during speech through a custom mouthpiece with over 100 sensors. Information is received in the mouthpiece, as well as audio input, and the software converts the information into a visual representation. Mastery of communication skills with the SmartPalate System are achieved concisely and more rapidly compared to standard treatment methods.
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The SmartPalate System used to treat a vast array of disorders and diagnoses, including articulation disorders, cleft palate, Down Syndrome, dysfluency, glossectomy, hearing impairment, laryngectomy, malocclusion, neurological, eating and swallowing, and accent reduction therapy.
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For more information on The SmartPalate System by Complete Speech please visit: https://completespeech.com/smartpalate/
WE TREAT MANY DISORDERS
Whether you suspect a language delay or need a communication device, it is critical to seek the expertise of a certified speech-language pathologist to ensure proper observation and intervention as needed. Our Anderson speech-language pathologists evaluate and treat all speech, language and feeding disorders listed below.”
Speech Sound DISORDERS
A child or an adult with a speech sound disorder has difficulty producing individual speech sounds. Speech sound disorders include problems with articulation (sound production) and phonological processes (sound patterns). Speech sounds develop gradually over time, but most sounds should be correctly produced by the age of 3, and all sounds should be correctly produced by the age of 6.
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Below are common symptoms of a speech sound disorder:
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Early feeding problems
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Lack of cooing with vowels at 2 to 3 months of age (e.g. ‘ah-ah’ or ‘ooh-ooh’)
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Lack of babbling using consonant sounds (particularly /b/, /m/, /d/, /n/) by 6 to 7 months (e.g. ‘dada’ or ‘baba’)
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Use of mostly vowel sounds and gestures for communication after the age of 18 months
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Unclear speech at the age of 3
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Omission of consonants in words at the age of 3
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Substitution of sounds (e.g. t for k, f for th)
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Still unable to produce certain sounds at the age of 6
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More information: http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/SpeechSoundDisorders/
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Childhood Apraxia of Speech
Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is a motor planning disorder in which children have trouble saying sounds, syllables and words. In CAS, the brain has difficulty planning the correct movement of the mouth and face in order to produce speech. The child is capable of thinking of what he/she wants to say but does not have the proper muscle movement planning required to produce speech. Treatment programs are designed to meet the individual needs of the child are focused around increasing motor planning abilities and increasing functional ability in children with CAS.
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More information: http://www.asha.org/public/speech/
ACQUIRED NEUROGENIC DISORDERS
Aphasia
Aphasia is a group of acquired language disorders that are a result of an injury to the brain. Aphasia affects language comprehension and expression, both spoken and written. Evidence-based treatment approaches are used that are designed to improve functional communication skills. Intervention is individualized based on the patient's needs and may include language-oriented therapy, melodic intonation therapy, computer-based treatment, augmentative and alternative communication training (AAC), reading treatment, writing treatment, and word finding treatment.
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More information: http://www.asha.org/Practice-Portal/Clinical-Topics/aphasia/
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Apraxia
Acquired apraxia of speech is an oral motor disorder affecting an individual's ability expression which results in limited and difficult speech ability. In adults, apraxia is usually caused by illness or injury to the part of the brain that is responsible for speech production. Illness or injury to this part of the brain results in a loss or impairment of existing speech abilities.
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More information: http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/apraxiaadults/
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Cognitive Linguistic Disorders
Cognitive linguistic disorders is a category of disorders that result from damage to the brain. The damage can result from a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or from disorders that affect brain processing like dementia and Alzheimer's. These disorders can affect a person's attention, memory, and reasoning ability. These disorders may also affect how a person understands and communicates.
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More information: http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/dementia/
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AUDITORY PROCESSING DISORDERS (APD)
A child with an auditory processing disorder (APD) has difficulty processing or interpreting auditory information. This is a common disorder in children, even in those children with normal hearing abilities and normal intelligence.
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A child with an auditory processing disorder may have difficulty understanding speech in the presence of background noise, such as a noisy classroom. The child may be unable to understand and follow spoken directions. The child may have difficulty discriminating and identifying individual speech sounds.
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Some symptoms of APD are as follows:
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Possessing poor reading, listening, or spelling skills
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Turning in a below-average academic performance despite normal I.Q. scores
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Showing a speech and language delay that is not improving despite therapy
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Having a short attention span
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Showing delayed responses to auditory information
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Behaving as if a hearing loss is present, even though hearing sensitivity is known to be normal
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Requiring frequent repetitions - saying "what?" or "huh?" or "I didn't hear you"
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Having difficulty paying attention to auditory tasks and/or being easily distracted by background noise
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Having difficulty following complex or multi-step directions; having difficulty being able to localize sound
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Having difficulty with phonics or speech sounds
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More information: https://www.asha.org/practice-portal/clinical-topics/central-auditory-processing-disorder/
AUGMENTATIVE AND ALTERNATIVE COMMUNICATION (AAC)
AAC is a specialized program that uses symbolic and computerized communication for individuals who have difficulty expressing what they want to say as a result of a motor, cognitive, or intellectual disorder. AAC sessions are focused around helping the child adapt to and learn to use their AAC device for functional communication.
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More information: http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/AAC/
LANGUAGE DISORDERS
Children are diagnosed with a language disorder when they have ongoing difficulty with the meaning of words or sentences (semantics), with word order or grammar (syntax), or with the social rules of language and conversation (pragmatics). Late language emergence (e.g., late talkers, difficulty following directions) extending through school age, may present itself in an expressive or receptive way. Expressive language issues include difficulty putting sentences together or learning how to use correct syntactic forms. Receptive language issues include difficulty following directions at home and in the classroom, as well as understanding important concepts for academics.
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A language disorder can be characterized by any of the following:
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Poor eye contact or attention to the speech of others by 4 months
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Absence of gestures at the age of 6 to 8 months
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Difficulty understanding the speech of others or following simple directions at the age of 12 months
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Absence of words or limited vocabulary at 16-18 months
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Absence of two-word combinations by 24-26 months
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Echoing words or phrases at age 3
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Use of incomplete sentences by age 3
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Inability to retell stories or talk about past events at age 3 to 4
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Difficulty with attention, memorization of facts, learning, or reading at age 6 to 7
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More information: https://www.asha.org/practice-portal/clinical-topics/late-language-emergence/
STUTTERING/CLUTTERING/OTHER FLUENCY DISORDERS
Stuttering, cluttering and other fluency disorders are marked by an interruption in the forward movement of speech often accompanied by struggle. The ECT clinic provides comprehensive evaluation and therapy for a variety of stuttering and fluency disorders. Therapy for stuttering and other fluency disorders focus on decreasing the number of disfluencies, promoting acceptance, and creating positive attitudes about speech production.
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More information: http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/stuttering/#a
SOCIAL COMMUNICATION DISORDERS
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder in which individuals struggle to varying degrees with social interaction, communication, and restricted, repetitive behaviors and interests. Early diagnosis and treatment for children with ASD is crucial in helping to make significant gains in language and social skills. Therapy sessions for individuals with ASD focus on addressing the child's specific social communication needs using developmentally appropriate activities to encourage and foster the child's language and social skills. Evidence-based interventions that are utilized might include play-based interventions, joint attention intervention, video-based instruction, literacy interventions, naturalistic teaching, relationship-based interventions, parent training, visual supports, augmentative and/or alternative communication training (AAC; see more information above), and treatment aimed at increasing self-management/regulation.
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More information: http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/autism/
Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder
This disorder includes difficulties with the functional use of verbal and nonverbal communication in social settings. Individuals might have decreased social cognition, social interaction, and pragmatic language skills. This may be a separate diagnosis or might also occur within the context of related disorders, including more generalized Communication Disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), developmental disability, language learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, and traumatic brain injury.
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More information: