If your child has had an evaluation completed within the last 6 months, please let me know and I can review the evaluation. As long as it has all of the necessary information, we can move directly to treatment instead of starting with an evaluation.

Evaluations generally take between 1 to 2 hours to complete. An evaluation can be conducted during one long session, or split up across multiple shorter sessions (e.g., two 45-minute sessions). Prior to the assessment, you will be asked to complete intake forms, including questions about your child’s speech and language development and your concerns. During the evaluation, standardized and/or informal measures may be used. Informal measures often include collecting language samples during play, gathering additional parent input, and dynamic assessment.

Following completion of the in-person portion of the assessment, I will analyze the data I’ve collected and write a formal evaluation report. I will then review the results of your child’s evaluation with you during their next session. Please reach out if you have any questions about my evaluation process!

Depending on the specific needs of the child, therapy sessions generally occur for 30-45 minutes, 1 to 2 times per week.

My approach to therapy is play-based and child-led. I believe that children are most motivated and engaged in speech and language therapy when their interests and preferences are taken into account. During sessions, it may look like we’re “just” playing, but there is so much more going on! Prior to each session, I pre-select targets to work on in therapy and brainstorm ways to naturally incorporate them throughout play. While it may look different than more traditional tabletop work with cards and drill, skills are being consistently taught and practiced throughout each session. If you ever have any questions about what I’m targeting in a session, please never hesitate to ask!

Gestalt language development occurs when a child develops language by learning longer phrases first (vs. beginning with learning single words, as occurs with analytic language development). These longer phrases or chunks of language are often called “gestalts” or “echolalia,” as the child is repeating something they have heard. An example of a gestalt might be, "Ice is my life!" from the movie Frozen, said when a character in the movie is very excited about an ice palace he is seeing. The child might then use this gestalt or phrase when they are excited about something in their life. In the therapy process, my goal is to first ensure your child has a variety of functional gestalts. After that, I then work to help your child break down those gestalts into single words, and finally work on recombining those single words into unique, spontaneous language.

Please contact Ellen with Sincere Speech Therapy, LLC if you’d like to learn more, or are wondering if your child might be a gestalt language processor.

The term “neurodiversity” refers to the way all brains differ from one another, and that there is no single “correct” way for someone’s brain to work. If someone is neurodiverse, it means their brain works differently than what is generally considered to be “typical” or the most common among the general population. Some examples of neurodiversity include autism/autistic spectrum disorder, ADHD, dyslexia, and sensory processing disorder.

As a neurodiversity-affirming speech and language pathologist, I believe that neurodivergence is a difference in how someone’s brain functions, not a disorder, and therefore does not need to be “fixed” or “cured.” My aim in speech and language therapy is to support each child’s quality of life and unique needs and preferences, rather than trying to teach them to act in neurotypical ways. In therapy sessions, this approach means that I:

-Do not provide “hand over hand” prompts in order to respect each child’s bodily autonomy.

-Do not withhold or withdraw a child’s needs as a way of getting them to request.

-Do not stop or ask a child to suppress stimming. Stimming is often a way to express joy or find comfort.

-Do presume competence and honor and accept all forms of communication.

-Do teach self-advocacy and problem-solving skills.

Please reach out if you have any questions about neurodiversity-affirming therapy and what this might look like for your child!