Who receives speech/language therapy services?

Speech-language intervention may be recommended for a variety of reasons.  Some children may have general developmental delays identified by their pediatrician or family, such as limited speech intelligibility or limited expressive language, when compared to their peers.  Other children may have specific diagnoses or an acquired deficit after an accident or surgery that is limiting their communication and/or cognitive function.  Speech therapy uses a variety of treatment methods to improve a child's ability to communicate wants and needs and understand others.

Takes2Therapy specializes in parent coaching & education by empowering parents to stimulate their child’s early speech-language development in everyday routines and interactions, utilizing concepts from The Hanen Program® for Parents- It Takes Two to Talk®* and other general speech-language stimulation strategies.  

It Takes Two to Talk®- The Hanen Program® for Parents is a well-known model of family-focused early language intervention that is designed for late-talking toddlers and preschool-age children with decreased language and interaction, as well as children under the age of 5 with cognitive and developmental delays affecting communication.  Parent training is the focus of this program so that parents learn to become their child’s primary language facilitator, promoting their child’s social-communication and language development naturally throughout their daily life.  Takes2Therapy offers informal implementation of the program through individual home visits where concepts and strategies are implemented and taught to parents.

Is my child a candidate for early speech-language intervention?

Yes-if your child is:

• under age 3 with delayed speech, language, social communication or risk of increasing delay per formal parent report/observation on developmental communication checklist

What happens if early speech-language intervention is indicated?

As part of the assessment, a developmental history will be obtained.  The child will be observed in informal play and standardized assessment will be completed. Upon completion of the evaluation, findings and recommendations will be included in formal comprehensive written assessment with developmental milestones and goals included. 

In therapy, Carmen will target:

• Parent Coaching & Education: Parents will learn essential basic concepts of early communication and speech-language development.  This knowledge will help them better understand their child’s stage of communication and facilitate setting appropriate communication goals.

• Early Language Intervention: Parents will learn to apply language facilitation strategies flexibly across contexts so intervention becomes a natural part of parent-child interactions.  Strategies introduced are individualized to meet the child’s interests and the family’s communication goals.

​

Links/References:

• http://www.hanen.org/Programs/For-Parents/It-Takes-Two-to-Talk.aspx