Aural (re)habilitation therapy

The Total Communication (TC) Approach is a flexible method that uses all available means of communication. This includes spoken language, sign language, speechreading (lip-reading), gestures, and assistive devices to help a child understand and express themselves.

This approach is customized to each child's unique needs, preferences, and strengths. We use these strategies to support your child's speech and language development, helping them build confidence and connect with family and friends.

At Pediaprogress, we tailor Total Communication strategies to support your child’s growth in speech and language while promoting confidence and meaningful interaction with family, peers, and their community.

We offer a Bilingual-Bicultural (Bi-Bi) Approach that uses American Sign Language (ASL) as the primary language for communication and learning. English is introduced as a second language, focusing on reading and writing. This approach values and integrates Deaf culture, supporting a child's identity and community.

Our founder, Mindy Vasilakopoulos, is proficient in ASL and an expert in Deaf culture, ensuring these are respected and supported in all evaluations and treatments. Additionally, our speech-language pathologists use basic ASL signs with all children to enhance communication and engagement during therapy.

Our multisensory articulation therapy helps Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing children learn to produce speech sounds by engaging all their senses: hearing, seeing, touching, and moving. This holistic method strengthens the brain's ability to process and produce accurate speech, making it especially effective for children who benefit from hands-on learning.

We integrate auditory, visual, tactile, and kinesthetic cues into therapy. This approach allows children to:

• Auditory (Listening): Hear and identify target sounds through sound discrimination, repetitive exposure, and modeling.
• Visual (Seeing): Watch the therapist's mouth movements, use mirrors to see their own, and use visual aids to understand sound formation.
• Tactile (Touching): Use gentle touch cues on the face, hand-over-hand guidance, and tools to increase awareness of mouth placement.
• Kinesthetic (Moving): Build muscle memory with repetitive mouth movements and pair sounds with body movements.

By using multiple senses at once, this approach helps children better understand and retain how speech sounds are made. It is ideal for children with articulation/phonological disorders or childhood apraxia of speech.
 

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Early intervention is crucial for deaf and hard-of-hearing children from birth to age three. This specialized support promotes language, cognitive, and social development during a child's most critical years for brain growth. By starting early, we can help prevent delays and build a strong foundation for lifelong learning and communication.

At Pediaprogress, our speech-language pathologists are credentialed by the State of Illinois Early Intervention (EI) Program. We work in partnership with families, providing therapy in-home or at daycare. Our approach is family-centered, meaning we tailor services to your family's unique values and communication preferences. We provide coaching and guidance on various communication options, including:

• Spoken language (with devices like hearing aids or cochlear implants)
• Sign language
• Combined approaches like Total Communication or bilingual methods

We empower parents with strategies to create a language-rich environment at home, using everyday routines like playtime and mealtimes to foster communication. This hands-on coaching helps parents become confident facilitators of their child's development.

Children who receive early intervention typically show better language and speech outcomes, stronger social-emotional skills, and are more prepared for school.

To learn more about our early intervention services, please contact us. Note that these sessions require authorization from your local Child and Family Connections (CFC) office and are separate from our in-office private therapy services.