Services

 Assessments are essential in determining the specific areas of speech and language that are the most challenging for each individual child. Sarah provides speech and language evaluations that include formal and informal testing, a written report detailing the results, and recommendations based on the information. Following an evaluation, a call will be scheduled between Sarah and the parents/caregivers to review the results and discuss next steps. 

Sarah meets each child where they are and builds upon their unique strengths  to improve literacy skills. Sarah is trained in the Orton-Gillingham (OG) program, which is an explicit, direct, sequential, systematic, multi-sensory approach to reading instruction and intervention. Sessions will focus on improving foundational literacy skills such as phonological awareness, sound-letter recognition, letter formation, sounding out words, and recognizing "trick words" during fun and engaging activities. 

Receptive Language refers to the skills involved in understanding language. Sessions focused on improving receptive language skills may include understanding linguistic concepts (e.g. prepositions, temporal language), following directions, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension.

Expressive Language skills reflect a child's ability to communicate their thoughts clearly in verbal and written forms. Expressive language skills targeted during sessions may  include using appropriate sentence structures, improving expressive vocabulary skills, and being able to express thoughts, ideas and feelings in a concise and organized manner. 

The manner in which we use our lips, tongue, jaw, and teeth to produce the sounds required for speech is referred to as articulation. Sarah implements tailored techniques that resonate best with each individual child to elicit the target sounds. Once the sound has been mastered during sessions, Sarah will provide carry-over techniques to ensure that the sounds are being generalized into everyday speech. 

Sarah utilizes a play-based approach to enhance language development for toddlers and preschool age children. Sarah believes that parent/caregiver involvement is critical for this age group, and provides strategies to be incorporated in the home and school environments. 

Social communication is a complex and layered skillset which impacts how we understand the world around us and how we communicate with our families, peers, and community. Children may benefit from support in areas of social communication such as  initiating conversations, staying on topic, taking turns during conversations, understanding other people's perspectives, understanding humor, etc. Sarah is trained in the Social Thinking Curriculum which she incorporates into her sessions as she sees fit. 

Language is embedded in nearly all academic areas including reading comprehension, writing, science, and social studies. Children who struggle to complete their homework can benefit from supports such as breaking down complex language, scaffolding information, and building upon their foundational knowledge. 

Writing is a complex process that can be difficult for many students. By teaching strategies from programs such as Unlocking Sentences and The Writing Revolution, Sarah provides explicit instruction on the various steps of the writing process including using appropriate sentence structures, brainstorming, organizing, drafting and editing.