Speech/Language Department

Email Alison »

Hello parents and caregivers,

My name is Alison and I am the licensed speech therapist that works at Wee School. I wanted to tell you a little about myself and explain what speech therapy looks like for Early Intervention. I have worked with students who have special needs from birth to 6 years old for 25 years. Before coming to Wee School, I was a speech therapist at Shelby Hills Early Childhood Center.

Speech therapy at Wee School is designed to help your child be an effective communicator with the world. This involves much more that teaching him or her to say words. It is easy to understand that a child must crawl and stand before they walk, but the pre-speech skills are not as obvious. Before sounds and words can become communication, a child needs to do the following:

• Play with people
• Imitate actions
• Imitate sounds
• Take turns with others
• Stay in turn taking interactions with others for several turns
• Communicate with movements and sounds
• Prefer being with people rather than alone

My focus will be on teaching interaction skills, encouraging communication and answering (or researching the answer to) any questions that you have about communication. The impact that you have on your child’s communication development is very important! I want to help YOU become your child’s best speech therapist!

I am looking forward to working with you and your child. If you ever have any questions about therapy or your child’s development, please ask.

Sincerely,

Alison