Our Programs
Let’s Adapt!®
The Let’s Adapt!® Program is a social skill and adaptive behavior group program designed to assist children, teens and young adults diagnosed with: Autism, Auditory Processing Disorder, Sensory Processing Disorder, Pragmatic Language Disorders and ADHD in developing appropriate and acceptable behaviors across a continuum of environments that include home, community, academic and vocational/professional settings. Groups of age appropriate peers are instructed by licensed speech-language pathologists with specialization in adaptive behavior as well as cognitive-linguistic skills as they pertain to adaptive behavior. The sessions are scheduled once weekly for ninety minutes at The Swain Center.
Let’s Adapt!® Focuses on aspects important to behavioral and social development including:
Communication (verbal and non-verbal body language)
Daily living skills
Emotional awareness
Behaviors
Understanding others
Each week, the small group will focus on a different theme meant to address the areas of focus. These themes may include topics such as:
Listening and responding to others
Asking for assistance
Recognizing adaptive and maladaptive behaviors
Understanding that maladaptive behaviors affect how others feel about us
Following and adhering to rules
Parent involvement in the Let’s Adapt!® program is crucial for transition and carryover of skills. For this reason parental involvement is required and parents must be present for the last fifteen minutes of every class. Parents will be given an overview of the skills addressed in each lesson so that they may reinforce these new skills at home. All participants must be toilet trained (an exception can be made for younger participants [3 and 4 year olds] based on Speech Language Pathologist recommendation). Participants must be able to take part without requiring one-on-one behavioral assistance. Participants must have verbal communication skills sufficient enough to engage in reciprocal communication with other participants.
TinyTalkers®
An early intervention preschool program designed to increase speech-language skills in a social setting with language-typical peers serving as a communication model. This class, taught by a speech language pathologist, is for children ages 2-3 years old and it meets twice weekly for 90 minutes (Clinically each session is 75 minutes; last 15 saved for parent wrap up and sanitation). Children in this class must be able to separate from parents with minor difficulties, be able to follow a structured routine and attend during structured activities (transition between facilitated play/circle/art), and sustain seating with minor support and have no aggressive behaviors.
Little Language Builders
Program designed for English speaking client’s 18mo-3years as a way to meet the needs for individual services in a timely manner OR for those who would benefit from a group based social setting but are not yet appropriate to participate in Tiny Talkers. This class, taught by a speech language pathologist, meets once weekly for 90 minutes (Clinically 75 minutes; last 15 saved for parent wrap up and sanitation) and the class. Parents are allowed in room but are not required to be. In order to qualify for this class, the child must demonstrate no aggressive behavior and demonstrate joint attention.
Speech Bridge
A program designed to increase speech-language skills and social-emotional behavior while participants wait for an individualized setting . This class is offered in both English and Spanish and meets once weekly for 60 minutes (clinically 50 minutes; last 10 designated for parents wrap up & sanitation). This class is 100% facilitated play taught by a speech language pathologist; does NOT follow TinyTalker duration or structure. Parents are allowed in the room, but it is not required. In order to qualify for this class, the child must demonstrate no aggressive behavior and demonstrate joint attention.
TARPSing
A parent-child participant class that provides hands-on instruction for parents to learn how to increase their child’s speech-language skills through talking, reading, playing and singing. This class, taught by a speech language pathologist meets once weekly for two hours and is an 8 week program. This class will involve parent education, opportunities for parents to implement strategies during play and snack time for early socialization skills. Parents are given weekly handouts to increase speech-language and joint attention skills.
Tomatis®®
The Tomatis® Method is an neurologic sound therapy that has been used in Europe for over eighty years. It is a therapeutic application of acoustically modified sound and signals designed to stimulate the way the brain receives and processes auditory signals. The Tomatis Method uses modulated and modified sounds to treat specific symptoms and disorders including autism spectrum disorders, auditory processing disorder, attention deficit disorders and other neurodevelopmental disorders in a non-invasive format.
The science behind The Tomatis® Method is based upon the neurological effect of sound upon the nervous system. Changes in the brain take place from the direct application of sound frequencies, especially when applied through specialized headphones. The Tomatis Method uses soothing, balanced, classical music with the primary purpose of this music being the delivery of filtered and non-filtered high frequency sound to the brain. Based on, research on neurocognition and the effects of sound on the nervous system, The Tomatis Method integrates science, engineering and art to improve one’s ability to perceive the full range of frequencies that result in active listening. Data and research findings indicate that changes can result in improved auditory memory, auditory discrimination, auditory working memory, auditory comprehension, auditory conceptual function, listening with background noise, phonemic awareness, and language processing. The goal is improved “listening” resulting in changes in communication and social and behavioral skills.