Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) refers to a means of communication other than talking for children who are non-verbal, limited verbally, or highly unintelligible in conversation. These children often experience increased frustration due to not being able to express wants, needs, ideas, and emotions to a variety of listeners. AAC services will help those children to communicate with a variety of listeners so frustration is decreased. Our speech-language pathologists at Big Blue Canopy have years of experience and have received various types of specialized training to provide AAC services to patients.

Examples of AAC treatment may include

• Using pictures to communicate (e.g. PECS)
• Using sign-language to communicate
• Using a speech-generating device (SGD) to communicate
• On-site we have an iPad with AAC apps and a trial SGD

Our therapists provide hands-on training for both the child and the parents so that the child is able to use the AAC system across all environments. We work closely together with parents to provide helpful home programs and services to improve the child’s ability to communicate with their individualized system. Therapists also conduct AAC evaluations where they work closely together with AAC reps from various companies to determine which speech-generating device may be the most successful for your child.

Articulation therapy targets children who experience articulation deficits and decreased speech intelligibility. Treatment targets articulation deficits by providing visual, auditory, and tactile (touch) cues. Therapist demonstrates appropriate placement for speech sounds by providing these cues. Children with phonological disorders, apraxia of speech, dysarthria, and other speech disturbances benefit from articulation therapy. Articulation therapy improves speech intelligibility so that the child is understood by a variety of listeners (familiar and unfamiliar).

Expressive language therapy targets expressive language skills that are necessary for expressing wants, needs, thoughts, ideas, and feelings. Receptive language therapy targets receptive language skills that are necessary for following directions and understanding spoken language. Children with expressive and receptive language deficits benefit from speech therapy to improve those skills crucial for expressing themselves and understanding language so that safety is ensured (e.g. expressing pain/illness and understanding directions/commands when involved in dangerous situations).

We provide treatment targeting oral motor and feeding deficits for the pediatric population. Feeding therapy targets a variety of deficits such as muscle weakness with chewing, controlling/chewing foods prior to swallowing, pacing in between bites to promote safe intake, cup/straw drinking, picky eating (increasing the variety of foods tolerated within diet), improving tongue/lip range of motion for speech sounds/feeding skills, etc. We provide parents with helpful strategies to implement at home to promote safe, efficient intake as well as increasing the variety of foods within the child’s diet.

Fluency treatment is provided to children who may be experiencing difficulty communicating due to disfluencies or stuttering. Disfluencies may be: repetition of sounds/syllables/words/phrases/sentences, interjections (use of filler words such as “like”, “um”, etc.), prolongation (sounds are elongated), blocking (airflow is shut off while speaking), etc. Fluency treatment provides children with strategies and techniques to compensate for disfluencies when they occur. Treatment also focuses on the feelings and emotions involved when children experience disfluencies or stuttering.

Pragmatic language therapy targets social communication to improve a child’s social interaction when involved in various social settings. Treatment focuses on improving pretend play skills, turn-taking, sharing, non-verbal communication skills (e.g. eye contact, personal space, posture, etc.), ways to initiate conversation, initiating questions in conversation, topic maintenance, etc. Therapists provide parents with strategies and ideas to carry over skills across a variety of environments so children are successful with making connections with peers and creating friendships.

There are a variety of skills that are necessary when making connections and building social relationships with others. These skills may not come naturally for all children. Our therapists at Big Blue Canopy are trained to work on social skills and emotional regulation with a variety of ages and diagnoses. Teaching interpersonal skills, conflict resolution, and problem-solving skills will improve the child’s social interaction and ability to make social connections with others.

Your child may benefit from treatment if they have difficulties with the following:

• Reading body language or identifying others’emotions
• Expressing their own emotions and feelings
• Self-regulation and managing emotions
• Transitions and changes in routines
• Turn-taking skills
• Engaging in joint play activities with others
• Making/keeping friends
• Initiating conversation with others
• Staying on topic in conversation
• Conversational turn-taking
• Non-verbal communication skills (e.g. eye contact, respecting others’ personal space, posture, etc.)

Therapists utilize a variety of treatment techniques such as:

• How Does Your Engine Run? to improve self-regulation
• Zones of Regulation to teach child strategies for emotional and sensory self-management
• Superflex- A Super Hero Social Thinking Program
• Peer interaction/ Participating in a group
• Turn-taking activities
• Interrupting appropriately
• Solving problems/negotiating
• Pretend play
• Social Stories to provide explanation and prepare children for various social situations they may have a difficult time experiencing (e.g. going to the doctor)
• Conversation paths to organize the flow of conversation
• Question boards to facilitate question initiation in conversation
• Conversation sticks to establish appropriate conversational turn-taking