Building Social Skills for Hyperlexic Children

MATCHMAKER, MATCHMAKER, MAKE ME A MATCН… When we say that CHAT SLPs focus on rapport and relationship building, we mean it! Enter Maya and Franco, both longtime CHAT clients. Recently, Maya has been working on self-advocacy, comprehension, and vocabulary, while Franco has been focused on speech intelligibility, repairing communication breakdowns, and comprehension. Maya and Franco […]

CHAT changed more lives than ever in 2024, thanks to your support! We can’t change lives without our dedicated, passionate team, and continuing to invest in our workplace culture while serving more children in need. And we can’t do this work without YOU, our volunteers, supporters and donors. We thank you and look forward to an […]

At CHAT, we are grateful every day for the chance to support our incredible children. We see the world through their eyes and help fuel their imaginations.

CHAT can’t do this work without your support. Donate today and give the gift of communication to more children in need. CHAT works to reach as many underserved children as possible, bridging the wide service gaps for speech-language therapy. One involves 3-5-year-olds. They’re too old for Early Intervention (EI), but too young for kindergarten. If […]

In 2024, CHAT turned 45. It all started with the legacy of our founder, Phyllis Kupperman, who saw a gap in services and, in her words, “would give away the services anyway, so [she] might as well start a nonprofit.” Today, her legacy abounds with 45 years of giving the gift of communication to those […]

New partnership with northwestern to enable inclusive research and equitable access to speech-language therapy for young children 

This report details some of the past year’s highlights of our work towards communication justice – effecting change for under resourced and under-represented people whose communication disorders and differences contribute to their inequitable treatment.

April is Autism Acceptance Month! CHAT fully accepts and embraces the Autistic community’s communication styles and preferences while advocating for inclusion in all spaces. Read more about CHAT’s work in this space with David’s story.

Voices of Value Neurodiversity-Affirming Approach: What it is and Why it Matters CHAT is a different kind of organization. When we say we are a resource to children with few – if any – other options, we mean that in several ways. This includes reaching children who do not have access to speech and language […]

Valentine’s Day puts the focus on romantic love and connections, but there are many kinds of connections worth highlighting! That’s why we chose this month to share the story of a special connection that our SLP, Marshall, built with his student, Jamal. Jamal is a sophomore in high school and has been receiving speech and […]

In this giving season, we’re thrilled to convey, a tale of a gift, directed our way: ‘Twas a typical Wednesday, Helene did prepare, To see a young client with something to share; This client, you see, is a teller of tales,And today has a story with which to regale; He presents Ms. Helene with a […]

Dear CHAT Supporters, In this season of giving thanks, I write today to say that CHAT is thankful for you. Thank you for the time you take to read our monthly impact stories. Thank you for your interest in our work and for your donations that make it possible. And thank you for helping us […]

CHAT can’t do this work without your support. Give the gift of communication to more children.

It’s October, and you just never know what Halloween month will bring…just as CHAT staff never know what each day will bring. One of our SLPs, Charlotte, started working at a therapeutic day school where one 19-year-old Autistic student refused to work with her. As soon as he met her, it was clear that he […]

In September, friends and colleagues came together to learn more about CHAT and how we help children overcome barriers to communication.

Imagine being so excited to come to therapy, you are willing to skip your vollevball game… As typically happens when you enter high school, Maggie’s social calendar filled right up

It’s back to school time! For many children it is a time of excitement and wonder. For others. it can be a time of uncertainty and anxiety. Every year, CHAT tries to reach more families who have nowhere else to go for speech and language services and better equip children for success in school. CHAT […]

“Problem child.” What a label to give a child, but that was how Nathaniel was known at school. When Nathaniel started school therapy with his CHAT SLP, she noticed that he arrived at every speech session unhappy and obstinate, which did not bode well for the sessions’ outcomes.  When his SLP asked why this might […]

Communication is the key to conveying one’s basic needs, to the success of social interactions, to the perception of one’s cognitive abilities, and to so many more aspects of an individual’s ability to navigate life.  When someone is non-speaking, developing the ability to communicate is a bit more complicated, and in many cases the answer […]

This report details some of the past year’s highlights of our work towards communication justice – effecting change for under resourced and under-represented people whose communication disorders and differences contribute to their inequitable treatment.

Voices of Value Interview with Treasyri Williams Wood, Director of Clinical Education at DePaul University Tell me about your current role, and how you got here. I am the Director of Clinical Education at the DePaul Speech-Language Pathology Program. I like to think that my whole life brought me to this moment—I consider this my dream job. […]

Advocacy is our middle name. We say this because it is true in several ways – advocacy is the “A” in our name, but it is also at the forefront of everything we do. We advocate for our clients and their families’ rights in the education system, law, and therapeutic process. By many measures, our […]