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- Karen
- Kern
- 1515 US Highway 22, Suite 30
Watchung
New Jersey
07069
United States - Lori Donnelly, M.A., CCC-SLP, LLC
Watchung
New Jersey
07069
United States
Speech therapy for a child with CAS focuses on helping them learn how to plan and coordinate the movements needed for accurate speech production. The goal is to build the child’s ability to speak more clearly and confidently over time. This is very difficult for these children, so I make it a priority to connect and create strong trusting relationships with them, communicating honestly, treating them with respect, and offering plenty of support and encouragement along the way. I appreciate the importance of setting the bar at just the right height; children must be challenged enough to make progress but not so much that they fail repeatedly and become discouraged. When possible, I allow children to make decisions during therapy (e.g., what game to play, what to focus on first, second, third), as children who have a sense of control feel empowered. I am a very dynamic individual who incorporates fun and engaging activities to keep kids motivated.
Parents are always welcome to sit in on their child’s sessions. They can watch, ask questions, and/or participate; whatever works best for them and their child. For parents who prefer not to sit in on the session, or for children who perform better when a parent isn’t present for the whole session, that is fine; the parent is expected to join us for the last 5 minutes of each session so techniques can be demonstrated and homework explained. With permission, I take a lot of videos throughout my sessions to demonstrate techniques I’m using and child successes. These can be shared with parents who aren’t able to attend, or other individuals involved in the child’s care. In terms of “homework,” I recognize that all families are unique. Some children will sit down and work with a parent. Others won’t. People are busy. I’m very practical and I’ll bend over backwards to give parents things to do that can be worked it into their everyday routines.
I incorporate use of sign language with the majority of my patients with CAS. With non-verbal children, I start with signs. In the initial stages of therapy with children just beginning to use sounds, use of sign is very helpful to augment their verbal communication (particularly if they are only using vowels or word approximations) to improve their ability to make themselves understood. I also find signing to be a useful tool when moving a child from direct verbal imitation to spontaneous productions (i.e., I will sign the target word to cue the child to say it without providing a verbal model). When signs have consistently been paired with verbal attempts during therapy, they can also serve as a very effective “trigger” for the child to access the motor plan for the sound, word, or sound sequence. I have used low-tech AAC (e.g., communication boards, picture exchange systems, symbol cards) with children with severe apraxia also on the autism spectrum. I am experienced enough with high tech AAC (e.g., Proloquo) to know when it would benefit a child on my caseload, in which case I refer out to an AAC specialist.
