Services Provided
Preschool Speech and Language Screening
A screening provides a glimpse of your chid's speech and language skills. Areas that might be screened include: speech sounds, answering questions, following directions, and voice quality. A screening helps to answer the question, "Is there a problem we should look into further?" A screening takes 10-20 minutes and is appropriate for children 3-6 years of age. The language of older children is too complex to detect some difficulties in just a few minutes.
Speech and Language Evaluation
An evaluation is a more detailed look at a child's communication skills. The tests that are used are chosen depending on the concerns that you have. They can target several areas, including articulation, receptive language skills, expressive language skills, vocabulary, processing skills, and oral motor skills. The tests allow you to see what areas are difficult for your child and how they compare to other children their age. An evaluation can take 1-2 hours and is appropriate for children of all ages, however, my primary focus has been on children over the age of 2.
Hearing Screening
A hearing screening is a test of your child's ability to hear different tones. The results are given as "pass" or "fail". A "fail" does not necessarily mean that your child has a hearing loss, but that further evaluation is needed by an audiologist or their physician.
Speech and Language Therapy
A therapy session typically last 30 minutes for young children and occurs once or twice weekly. The goals are chosen based on the child's needs. Activities to target these goals are fun and engaging. The child will also be given tasks to practice at home. Home practice is extremely important in helping the child succeed. Therapy is usually one-on-one or small groups of 2-3 children with similar goals. Caregivers are encouraged to observe and/or participate in the therapy session, if they wish.
Testimonials:
“Teresa Ahrens provided speech therapy for 2 of my children over the course of several years.
Over the course of those years, my children's speech improved greatly and we definitely noticed a positive change in the way they talked.
Teresa was very good at providing weekly updates after every session. She would provide homework for the children to do and to practice between sessions. She made speech therapy fun and I know that both of my children looked forward to their time with her. She quite often did games or scavenger hunts and the kids didn't even know they were working on their speech. Teresa would also go into the classroom and listen to the kids as they did public speaking or reading aloud. This gave her a good sense of how the kids were progressing.
At the end of each school year, Teresa would provide us with a report on how our children had progressed and if she felt that further therapy was necessary. I feel that she was very thorough and professional and I am very thankful for her services at our school.
I would highly recommend Teresa as a speech and language therapist.”
Emily Z.
“I am pleased to write this letter of recommendation for Teresa Ahrens as an exceptional speech and language therapist. Teresa has been working with my 5 year old son for 6 months and has helped him make outstanding progress in speaking more clearly. She creates exercises that are fun and age-appropriate, this allows my son to enjoy going to his speech therapy lesson. Teresa invites the parents into her sessions so I am better able to help my son with practicing his speech in between lessons. She also does a great job of following up the session with a communication email to inform the parents what she focused on in the past session and ideas to help practice before the next session. Teresa is great with kids and comes into the lessons very prepared and professional.
I highly recommend Teresa Ahrens as a very successful speech and language therapist. Teresa has been a pleasure to work with. I am very thankful for the progress she has helped facilitate in my son’s speech. She has made an outstanding difference in my son’s speech in a fun and enjoyable experience.
Amy S.