The ability to communicate is our most human characteristic and is essential to learning, playing and social interaction. Impaired communication can affect every aspect of a child's life.

When concerns arise regarding communication abilities a thorough evaluation by a speech-language pathologist is needed to determine a person's communication strengths and weaknesses. After this evaluation the speech-language pathologist will be able to provide a plan for meeting the child's needs. Speech and Language therapy at High Hopes, Inc. addresses a variety of communication disorders including:

• Sound production (articulation)
• Receptive language skills (understanding and following directions)
• Expressive language skills (putting words together, naming objects, talking about events)
• Pragmatics (eye contact, rules of conversation)
• Voice (quality, volume, pitch)
• Fluency (speed of speech and stuttering)
• Augmentative and assistive communication (sign language, communication boards, electronic systems)
• Oral motor skills (how the parts of the mouth move for speaking and eating), and feeding skills.

Therapy can be done in an individual, group or classroom environment. Specific therapy techniques are utilized to provide the child with opportunities to expand his or her comprehension and/or production of language experienced daily. It encompasses how the child expresses his or her needs and ideas about these experiences in sound development, work selection, and sentence construction. Therapy stresses the importance of the fact that children learn through play; therefore, play is the primary medium through which goals are achieved.

We feel it is important to collaborate with at team of professionals as well as the family to develop a program across environments that best meets the child's needs.