Services
Speech Therapy, Language Development, and Beyond
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How do I know if my child needs speech or language therapy?
How do I know if my child needs speech or language therapy?
We work with individuals aged 2-22 who for one reason or another have difficulty communicating what they want to communicate. This could look like a child who others struggle to understand, or it could look like an autistic child who doesn't understand how to read a social situation or how to approach and interact with potential friends. It could look like someone who stutters and is starting to withdraw to avoid having to speak to others, or it could look like a child who is nonverbal (doesn't talk) and thus only has their actions to be able to communicate their feelings and needs. There are more examples, but all come down to this; those whose quality of life could be improved from SLP services are those who from no fault of their own struggle to communicate the feelings, words, or complete messages that are inside of them.
We work with individuals aged 2-22 who for one reason or another have difficulty communicating what they want to communicate. This could look like a child who others struggle to understand, or it could look like an autistic child who doesn't understand how to read a social situation or how to approach and interact with potential friends. It could look like someone who stutters and is starting to withdraw to avoid having to speak to others, or it could look like a child who is nonverbal (doesn't talk) and thus only has their actions to be able to communicate their feelings and needs. There are more examples, but all come down to this; those whose quality of life could be improved from SLP services are those who from no fault of their own struggle to communicate the feelings, words, or complete messages that are inside of them.
My name is Hope Keenan, and I am a state and ASHA certified speech and language pathologist (MA CCC-SLP) with the ability to analyze and deconstruct current communication abilities and patterns, create a tailored program of communication improvement, and implement that plan with efficiency, compassion, professionalism, and positivity.
My name is Hope Keenan, and I am a state and ASHA certified speech and language pathologist (MA CCC-SLP) with the ability to analyze and deconstruct current communication abilities and patterns, create a tailored program of communication improvement, and implement that plan with efficiency, compassion, professionalism, and positivity.
Speech
Speech
Articulation Needs "Shouldn't he be able to say that sound by now?"| For children who have a difficult time pronouncing some speech sounds. Perhaps they sometimes have a hard time being understood by others.
Articulation Needs "Shouldn't he be able to say that sound by now?"| For children who have a difficult time pronouncing some speech sounds. Perhaps they sometimes have a hard time being understood by others.
Stuttering "Isn't this just going to go away on its own?" | Stuttering sounds like repetitions, prolongations, or blocks in the natural flow of speech.
Stuttering "Isn't this just going to go away on its own?" | Stuttering sounds like repetitions, prolongations, or blocks in the natural flow of speech.
Phonological Disorders "She knows what she's saying, but even we have a hard time understanding her"| Phonological disorders reflect a patterned switching of sounds ("I pet tat!"), deletion of sounds ("O" for "go"), or distortion of sounds.
Phonological Disorders "She knows what she's saying, but even we have a hard time understanding her"| Phonological disorders reflect a patterned switching of sounds ("I pet tat!"), deletion of sounds ("O" for "go"), or distortion of sounds.
*Motor Speech* | Motoric speech difficulties (muscle and movement coordination disorders) in childhood include Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) and Dysarthria.
Childhood Apraxia of Speech is a disorder of muscle coordination and planning and is marked by "unstable" word productions (the same word is produced in several different ways by the child, for example "green" could be "gunuh" "uhguh" and "gihn"), vowel distortions (the vowels of the word aren't how an adult would say them), lower-than-peer-level number of words in their vocabulary, markedly reduced understandability, and, usually, cognitively bright and able to understand others' speech easily.
**If your child might have CAS, early speech therapy intervention is key as this type of communication disorder does not self resolve.
Dysarthria is a disorder of muscle weakness and usually results in slurred sounding speech.
Language
Language
Receptive Language "It's probably just selective listening" (🚩not if it's a language issue)| Refers to how your child understands language (what you and others say to/around your child)
Receptive Language "It's probably just selective listening" (🚩not if it's a language issue)| Refers to how your child understands language (what you and others say to/around your child)
Expressive Language "People have a hard time following what my kid is saying"| Refers to how your child uses words to express themself.
Expressive Language "People have a hard time following what my kid is saying"| Refers to how your child uses words to express themself.
Pragmatic Language "My kid just can't read social situations." | Refers to children who struggle to understand and use spoken language and nonverbal body language in socially appropriate ways.
Pragmatic Language "My kid just can't read social situations." | Refers to children who struggle to understand and use spoken language and nonverbal body language in socially appropriate ways.
Autism
Autism
Autism Spectrum Disorder | Autistic individuals represent a beautiful spectrum of abilities. As an Autist myself, I have a strong passion for working with children and adults on the spectrum to improve communication within the individual as well as within the family and the community. From pragmatic language work (see Language) to using alternative methods to communicate (sign language, pictures, Alternative and Augmentative Communication) to being able to read, interpret, and respond to social situations, a neuro-affirming SLP is an essential part of your team in expanding your child's knowledge and abilities to communicate.
Autism Spectrum Disorder | Autistic individuals represent a beautiful spectrum of abilities. As an Autist myself, I have a strong passion for working with children and adults on the spectrum to improve communication within the individual as well as within the family and the community. From pragmatic language work (see Language) to using alternative methods to communicate (sign language, pictures, Alternative and Augmentative Communication) to being able to read, interpret, and respond to social situations, a neuro-affirming SLP is an essential part of your team in expanding your child's knowledge and abilities to communicate.
*Autistic Advocate*
*Autistic Advocate*
Oftentimes parents of autistic children or autistic folks themselves could really use someone with lived knowledge to help guide, grow, and interpret. As an autistic adult and parent of neurodiverse children, I have a unique insight and experience in supporting a variety of autism-related challenges. I do this work not as a speech-language pathologist, but as an Autist (but an Autist well informed in the development of language and speech!). Potential areas of advocacy:
Oftentimes parents of autistic children or autistic folks themselves could really use someone with lived knowledge to help guide, grow, and interpret. As an autistic adult and parent of neurodiverse children, I have a unique insight and experience in supporting a variety of autism-related challenges. I do this work not as a speech-language pathologist, but as an Autist (but an Autist well informed in the development of language and speech!). Potential areas of advocacy:
IEP meeting preparation/attendance
We/I received a diagnosis- now what?
Sensory and environmental insight/modification through the lense of a hypo- or hyper- perceptive neurosystem.
Gentle, caring attunement and coherence creation from a disregulated system (Co-regulation)
Body Doubling
Voice
Voice
Voice | Your vocal folds live inside your larynx (voice box). When we speak, we engage muscles that bring our vocal folds close together; once you add airflow from your lungs, the resulting vibration is the sound of your unique voice! Voice work includes paradoxical vocal fold motion/vocal cord disfunction, muscle tension dysphonia, gender-affirming voice, and puberphonia.
Voice | Your vocal folds live inside your larynx (voice box). When we speak, we engage muscles that bring our vocal folds close together; once you add airflow from your lungs, the resulting vibration is the sound of your unique voice! Voice work includes paradoxical vocal fold motion/vocal cord disfunction, muscle tension dysphonia, gender-affirming voice, and puberphonia.
Special Populations
Special Populations
Children with diagnoses that result in a functional difference of the structures of the hearing or speaking mechanism| This includes but is not limited to individuals with Cleft Lip or Palate, Down Syndrome, Velo Pharyngeal Insufficiency (VPI), those that are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, VCFS, Rett Syndrome, Developmental Delay, and more.
Children with diagnoses that result in a functional difference of the structures of the hearing or speaking mechanism| This includes but is not limited to individuals with Cleft Lip or Palate, Down Syndrome, Velo Pharyngeal Insufficiency (VPI), those that are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, VCFS, Rett Syndrome, Developmental Delay, and more.
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