In dealing with the Lot in Life, it will be best to see if Jane is indeed experiencing issues with alalia. From the case study, there do not appear to be any issues related to an aggravated pregnancy that is often according to NICHCY (2011), a common aspect of the development of alalia. Jane is at the age where alalia tends to show signs. Moreover, she does also appear to be showing what Hawk (1999) discusses as signs of backlog in the development of speech and it will be essential and necessary to assess her problem(s) with a speech therapist. To this end, two agencies in Ellicott City, MD were contacted in order to gain insight into assisting Jane, if she does indeed have alalia, and in general. There is potential for her not to even have such an issue and for it to truly be simply a lack of development due to the continual changes that she has experienced with her family moving around and the like.
The Help Me Speak Agency
The Help Me Speak Agency was first contacted. They assist with all types of speech disorders and problems. They specialize in alalia and are noted for recruiting the best in speech therapy and pathology in order to provide patients with the best form of treatment. Upon contacting them, they informed me that they have a variety of methods that they utilize to treat alalia. These include working with the child in a physical or occupational way and subsequently, reading them stories, playing word games and/or continually engaging the child to speak. Since alalia is a neurological issue, there is a need for a consultation first, with the speech pathologist and then Help Me Speak will then provide the individualized treatment plan. This can include either individual or group sessions depending on the extent of the alalia issue. Upon informing them about Jane, they were very helpful in providing the necessary information on what needs to happen from here in order for them to be successful in helping her to speak.
One of the key aspects associated with Help Me Speak that made me contact them was the fact that they are licensed and provide a structured approach to assisting with language and speaking issues, and have timed sessions for 30 minutes, understanding that the child can only be treated in increments (Help Me Speak, 2015). The costs for the treatment sessions depend on a variety of factors, but range anywhere from $200 to $250 for initial assessment and then are charged by the hour, with a treatment lasting for 2 increments of 30 minutes for about $250 per hour. The Help Me Speak agency can be reached at 410-442-9791 and are available Monday through Thursday from 9 to 7. Both sessions and evaluations are done by appointment only (Help Me Speak, 2015).
Kid’s Village Therapy
According to Kid's Village Therapy (2016), they provide a comprehensive speech language pathology service (p.1). Upon contacting them about Jane, I was informed that they first provide a consultation, then proceed to an evaluation of the issues that Jane is experiencing to make an accurate diagnosis of the problem. Since there is a possibility that Jane does indeed have alalia, the office assistant that I spoke with informed me that they provide an extensive amount of services to develop the social skills of the patient. They have an array of programs that are designed to target the speech development in children including TalkAbility, which is a program that enforces a kind of conversational engagement with the patient, their parents and others; More Than Words, which is a small group and personalized therapy routine, that fosters interaction and communication through everyday activities. This is more centered toward children with autism (Kid's Village Therapy, 2016), but I was informed that it has benefited children with other developmental disorders as well. The Kid's Village Therapy agency will provide the necessary strategies to get Jane talking and they advised that they can even perform offsite speech evaluations, consultations and treatment sessions. Their aim is to work with the patient, and their parents for the best outcome possible. The costs related to the evaluation and consultations were similar to that of Help Me Speak. The treatments are cheaper, being $200 per hour. They do not do incremental sessions of 30 minutes. Each case is evaluated separately. The Kid's Village Therapy can be reached at 443-283-0618 and by email at . They are open from 4 PM to 8 PM daily (Kid’s Village Therapy, 2016).
Conclusion
In evaluating both agencies, the one that struck a chord with me in terms of assisting Jane with speaking as the Kid’s Village Therapy. The office assistant that I spoke with was very helpful and went above and beyond to ask any questions. I did not feel as though I was being rushed off the phone and she was able to provide a substantial amount of information about the services that the agency offered to help Jane in whatever potential possibility they could. This does not mean that Help Me Speak is not potentially able to assist me with Jane, but I felt more comfortable with the Kid’s Village Therapy and will be taking her there as soon as possible. It is my hope that Jane will be speaking soon, if not after a few sessions with the pathologists at Kid’s Village Therapy.
References
Hawk, S. (1999). Speech disorders: a psychological study of the various defects of speech. London: Routledge.
Help Me Speak. (2015). Retrieved from http://helpmespeak.com/
Kid's Village Therapy. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.kidsvillagetherapy.com/
NICHCY. (2011). Speech & LanguageImpairments. Disability Fact Sheet #11.
