Speech Therapy Services
Speech Sound Disorders (Articulation/Phonology) • Receptive and Expressive Language Disorders • Dyslexia/Literacy • Pragmatics/Social Skills • Fluency • Play Skills
Evaluations
At Schneider Family Services, our priority is understanding exactly where your child needs support. We perform thorough, specialized evaluations to pinpoint their unique strengths and challenges, allowing us to create the most effective, personalized plan for success.
We specialize in two primary areas of assessment:
1. Speech & Language Evaluations
These comprehensive assessments look at all aspects of how your child communicates. We identify where breakdowns occur and how to best address them. We can evaluate your child's skills in:
Articulation & Phonology: How clearly your child produces speech sounds and uses sound patterns in words so that others can understand them easily.
Expressive Language: The ability to use words, build sentences, tell stories, and express thoughts clearly.
Receptive Language: How well your child understands spoken language and follows directions.
Fluency: Assessing for stuttering, repetitions, or breaks in the flow of speech.
Social/Pragmatic Communication: How your child interacts, plays, and converses appropriately with others in various social settings.
2. Dyslexia & Literacy Evaluations
If you notice specific struggles with reading, writing, and spelling, a targeted literacy evaluation is crucial.
We use specific, evidence-based tests to identify foundational reading difficulties, including the possibility of dyslexia. This evaluation helps us understand the why behind your child's challenges with decoding words or keeping up with grade-level reading expectations. The results directly inform a targeted, effective therapy plan using our structured Orton-Gillingham approach.
Therapy
At Schneider Family Services, our speech and language therapy services, in the Sioux Falls area, are designed to help your child communicate and connect with the world around them. We provide personalized, one-on-one sessions to address a wide range of needs, ensuring your child can express themselves confidently.
Dyslexia/Literacy
Speech Sound Disorders
Speech Sound Disorders (SSDs) affect a person's ability to produce clear speech. This makes it difficult for others to understand them. These disorders typically fall into two main types:
Articulation Disorders: Physical difficulty making specific sounds correctly (e.g., saying "wabbit" for "rabbit").
Phonological Disorders: Difficulty understanding the rules for sounds in words (e.g., leaving sounds out, like "poon" for "spoon").
These challenges can affect social interactions, confidence, and academic skills like reading and spelling.
Our Story-Based Approach to Therapy
We use a dynamic story-based approach to make speech therapy engaging and effective. This method moves beyond repetitive drills by practicing sounds within meaningful stories, helping clients use these skills in real life.
Our therapy integrates storytelling to:
Provide Practical Context: Clients practice target sounds in realistic scenarios, easily transferring skills to everyday conversations.
Boost Motivation: We use engaging stories tailored to client interests, encouraging consistent participation.
Enhance Essential Skills: Storytelling builds narrative abilities (sequencing, cause-and-effect), foundational for social skills and literacy.
Address Multiple Goals: A single story activity targets articulation, vocabulary, and social communication simultaneously.
Ensure Consistent Practice: Repetitive narratives and visual aids reinforce learning and build lasting confidence in communication.
Through engaging narratives, we help individuals overcome speech challenges and develop clear, confident communication skills.
Gestalt Language & Language Therapy
Gestalt Language Processing (GLP) is a natural style of language development where individuals learn language in complete "chunks" or phrases, rather than single words.
They learn "big-to-small." A child might use a movie line (a gestalt) to express an emotion. This initial stage often involves "scripting" or echolalia (repeating phrases), which is a meaningful attempt to communicate and a vital first step.
Our Therapeutic Approach
Our therapy helps clients break down these fixed phrases into single words they can mix, match, and use to create original sentences and communicate spontaneously.
Our tailored services use supportive, child-led methods:
Child-Centered: Sessions are driven by your child’s interests to build trust and engagement.
Natural Modeling: We model language from the child's viewpoint (e.g., "I need a break" instead of "Do you need a break?").
Affirming Communication: We acknowledge all communication, including scripting, as meaningful attempts to connect.
Narrating vs. Questioning: We narrate and comment ("That dog is big!") to provide rich language models, reducing direct questions.
We align with your child's unique style to empower them to develop confident, flexible, and self-generated communication skills.
Reading and writing are foundational skills for academic success. Our literacy services are designed to support children who struggle with reading, spelling, and written expression, including those with dyslexia.
We use a structured, multi-sensory approach to build a strong foundation for literacy. Our services include:
Orton-Gillingham Approach: This is a highly effective, evidence-based method for teaching reading and spelling. It is particularly beneficial for students with dyslexia and other reading challenges.
Written Expression: We work on improving a child's ability to organize thoughts and write clear, coherent sentences and paragraphs.
Spelling: We teach the rules and patterns of English spelling to help children become more accurate spellers.
Phonological and Phonemic Awareness: We focus on developing a child's awareness of the sounds in language, a critical skill for both reading and spelling.
Reading (Fluency & Accuracy): We help children read more smoothly and accurately, which directly improves their reading comprehension.
Reading Comprehension: We provide strategies to help children understand and remember what they read.
Parent & Caregiver Coaching
Navigating the special education system can be overwhelming. As an advocate, we are here to support you and your child, ensuring your family's voice is heard and that your child receives the appropriate support in school.
Advocacy services include:
Reviewing Evaluations: We help you understand complex special education evaluations and reports.
Developing a Plan: We will work together to create a clear, collaborative plan that aligns with your family's goals and your child's unique needs.
IEP Meeting Attendance: We will attend Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings with you to advocate for your child's best interests and ensure they receive the services and accommodations they deserve.
We Are Accepting New Clients, In Person or Online, for Speech Therapy!
Let Schneider Family Services empower your child to better communicate their needs, wants, and feelings, strengthening family connections.
