About Us
Our Values
Compassion
We strive to treat all patients and families with the utmost care and respect. While we recognize the importance of speech and language therapy, we simultaneously take a holistic approach to ensure our patients’ overall wellbeing.
Catalysts for Change
We buck the status quo. All members of our team are encouraged to adopt the mindset of being ‘lifelong learners’, regardless of how many years of experience they bring to our practice. We don’t just embrace change, we actively strive for it.
Cultural Humility
For most of us, our cultural backgrounds are formed through an intricate interweaving of multiple intersecting identities and we respect all of them. We strive to do our best and invite you to call us in if you see an opportunity for growth.
Traditional Therapy Model:
- Focus on “normalizing” behaviors.
- Teach children to mask differences to approximate neurotypical behavior.
- Attempt to extinguish so-called “non-compliant behavior”
- Focus on child following an adult-led plan.
- Use negative & positive external “rewards” to motivate behavioral change.
- View the child’s behavior as the problem
Neurodiversity-Affirming Model:
- Focuses on promoting self-advocacy and independence.
- Learning about brain differences; building self-knowledge & perspective-taking.
- Investigates why the behavior exists & helps match or meet the need expressed.
- Involves the child in goal creation.
- Uses child-led, respectful therapeutic activities that are intrinsically rewarding.
Our Therapy Approach Is:
Individualized
Each patient is different – and so is their therapy plan of care. We work with families to address their most pressing concerns and tailor our goals to meet those needs. We give you a clear idea of your loved one’s speech and language abilities and work with you to establish actionable steps we’ll take together to help them meet their goals, updating you on their progress along the way.
Play-Based
Child-led, play-based therapy encourages movement, engagement, and maximizes generalization of skills. Play is the work of children: it provides opportunities to practice important gross and fine motor skills and learn functional communication skills. Research shows that play-based interventions are more effective than other methods of intervention.
Family-Focused
We believe that caregivers are invaluable therapy partners and parents are the experts on their own children. Thus, it’s no surprise for us to find that working closely with families benefits everyone. Our aim is to empower caregivers with the tools needed to facilitate language through everyday routines and make sure that we target skills that are most useful across a variety of environments.
The JoyCo Difference
With significant experience in a variety of clinical settings and government agencies, we are vastly knowledgeable of your loved one’s options in accessing all services for which they are eligible. We provide your family with better care, service, and results.
Conditions we treat:
Speech/Articulation
This refers to the way the oral structures work together to produce speech sounds. If you or a loved one are having difficulty being understood by others, we can help determine if imprecise articulation is contributing to the difficulties.
Language
There are four components to language: auditory comprehension, expressive communication, reading comprehension, and written expression. Our SLPs can pinpoint areas of need and develop an individualized treatment plan.
AAC
Augmentative & Alternative Communication includes all the ways we share our ideas & feelings without talking. We all use forms of AAC every day. AAC can supplement oral communication or be used exclusively by non-speaking people.
Literacy
Reading comprehension and written expression are important parts of communication. Difficulties with reading, writing, or spelling, including dyslexia and dysgraphia, may be diagnosed and treated by a trained SLP.
Executive Functioning
Difficulties in this area may be apparent in the areas of memory, attention, sequencing, problem solving, organization, and other thinking skills. Cognitive communication difficulties may be apparent in childhood or adulthood.
Feeding & Swallowing
Eating and swallowing are a complex mechanism that, when impaired, may lead to poor nutrition, weight loss, and other health problems. Our SLPs can help diagnose and treat swallowing disorders, also known as dysphagia.