My Approach

At this point in my career, I have had the opportunity to work in school districts and private practice. I learned many things from the supervisors and colleagues in both settings, which I am appreciative of. Within these settings, I was able to work with students and clients with a variety of disorders ranging from mild articulation disorders to cerebral palsy and Down Syndrome. 

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One of the main take-aways from working in these settings was that no matter what the disorder or the severity, the most important thing was to make sure I created functional goals for each client. To me, communication impacts not only the person who has a deficit, but the people around them as well. With that in mind, it is important to involve the client and their family members (when applicable) in creating the communication goals. 

 

When we work on creating a plan of care for the client, I will give recommendations and suggestions of goals to target based on my experience and knowledge, but I also want to hear from the client and family regarding what communication goals are important to them. For example, if your child struggles with saying family names/their own name, then we can certainly create a goal to target producing those names. It is also important to remember that as the client progresses and grows throughout their time in therapy, we can alter and create new goals for them as needed. The first set of goals we design together won't be the only ones we address. 

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