At CHAT, our speech-language pathologists meet kids where they’re at. This often means incorporating a child’s special interests into their therapy sessions, as Shanah does with her summer client, Brian.
Recently, Shanah and Brian focused on story comprehension. One of Brian’s favorite activities is parkour, which includes lots of running, jumping, and climbing everyday obstacles. Shanah, having built rapport with Brian, knew about this passion and created a parkour story for their sessions on comprehension.
Together, they were able to learn and have fun. While identifying the elements of the story, Brian exclaimed, “this reminds me of work I’ve done before, but it’s more fun!”
This summer story is a great reminder of the value of rapport and child-led therapy, core to CHAT’s approach for almost 50 years.
Summer Straws
With the intense Chicago heatwaves this summer, one CHAT mom was concerned about her son, Jackson, staying hydrated. He had an aversion to drinking straws, which made it hard to find an age-appropriate travel cup.
Jackon’s Early Intervention SLP, Chloe, decided that before using a straw as a functional tool, they could explore the object with no pressure. Chloe modeled using a straw and let Jackson touch and get comfortable with one.
Combining this approach with an offering of different straws worked! Jackson made his first attempt at drinking through a straw and has recently become comfortable using one daily.
Thanks to Chloe, Jackson’s mom has one less worry on her list. Through our Early Intervention practice, CHAT brings this kind of family-centered, functional therapy to children in need throughout Chicagoland.
Can you help more kids like Brian and Jackson by giving a gift to CHAT today? Click Here!
100% of annual appeal donations fund direct services for children in need.
- $1,500 equips a supportive sensory room in CHAT’s clinic.
- $1,000 funds a scholarship for an intensive summer therapy program.
- $750 covers three months of life-changing speech and language services.
- $500 buys an iPad to bring AAC tools to children in their communities.
- $250 funds a comprehensive speech-language evaluation.
- $100 buys a child a set of books for CHAT’s literacy program.