The speech and language therapy services at Jabbergym focus on interactive strategies in functional play activities to achieve specific speech and language goals. Our services are part of a trans-disciplinary team approach that strives to integrate the child's goals into every aspect of each therapy in which the child participates. Expression and understanding of language allows children to participate in their environment. The ability to listen, gesture, and speak creates access to social relationships and gives children the ability to get their wants and needs met. Parent involvement in the therapy process is essential to ensure carryover to other daily living activities. Parents are considered partners in every aspect of the therapy service.

Jabbergym employs master's level, CA licensed speech language pathologists and CA licensed speech language pathology assistants to teach successful communication skills. We offer support for children having special needs including Autism, PDD, Asperger's, Down Syndrome, oral apraxia, auditory processing, hearing loss and other developmental delays.

Our Speech Language pathologists, licensed by the state of California, are authorized and qualified to provide speech and language therapy evaluation, treatment planning, treatment, instruction, and consultative services.

Evaluations: A speech and language assessment includes a variety of standardized and non-standardized measures. These tools are used to provide you with the most accurate descriptions of your child's speech and language strengths, as well as communication challenges.

Standardized evaluations include a selection of speech and language assessment tools that will compare your child's skills to those of typically developing peers. These are instruments such as articulation or phonology tests, vocabulary tests, test of grammar/syntax, and pragmatic skills. Non-standardized measures may include observations of your child, speech and language oral samples, parent interviews, review of previous reports, and classroom observations.

Speech

Refers to the sounds that come out of your child's mouth, and take shape in the form of words

Articulation

Refers to how your child pronounces individual words. Often known as their "clarity of speech" (caw/car)

Phonology

The ability to produce and discriminate specific sounds of English language (guck/duck, gook/book)

Oral Motor Function/Feeding

The ability of your child's jaw, tongue, lips, and other muscles to move adequately for clear speech production and swallowing

Fluency

The steady flow of speech.

Voice

The quality and volume of vocal output

Expressive Language

refers to the ability to express one's wants and needs. Pulling a parent or pointing toward a wanted item to get needs metGesturing/signing to get a want or need. Spoken language Syntax/Grammar-use of language rules Semantics/Vocabulary- variety of word use

Receptive Language

Refers to the ability to understand and comprehend information

  • Maintains attention towards speaker
  • Comprehends verbal or gestured messages
  • Follows simple directions
  • Ability to focus on people/items talked about in conversation
  • Points to pictures or items when named

Pragmatics

Refers to the social uses of language

  • Eye contact

  • Turn taking in conversation

  • Uses appropriate words in social conversation

  • Takes the perspective of the listener

  • Understands and appropriately uses body language and expressions

Auditory Processing

Refers to one's ability to understand and process/decode spoken language.

  • The ability to stay focused on one conversation when other distractions are occurring
  • Actively listening to the speaker
  • Ability to hear differences between sounds and words (auditory discrimination)
  • Ability to follow directions/answer question when given verbally
  • Ability to sound out words when reading