+ What is your office therapy environment like?

Bloom is kid-friendly, a relaxed office space where the focus is on relieving your stress through empowering solutions.

It’s normal for parents to feel nervous and worried about what’s “wrong” with their child. Bloom takes a team approach with parents and caregivers, involving you in the therapy process and solutions as we help your child, together.

+ What happens at an initial assessment?

Initial assessments can take one hour. If more is needed, we can schedule additional assessment sessions. The evaluation covers your reason for the visit, background information, and a formal and informal assessment of a client’s unique situation and needs.

Speech evaluations can include standardized tests, an informal assessment, and an orofacial myological exam if related to a speech disorder.

Language evaluations can include standardized language assessments for expressive and receptive language as well as an informal assessment.

Cognitive evaluations may cover working memory, processing, and executive function.

Orofacial Myofunctional evaluations include assessments of the orofacial complex: jaw, lips, tongue, lingual rest position, lingual swallow position, and chewing and swallowing efficiency.

+ How long does therapy last?

Therapy is very personal, and every individual child or adult is different. Rather than focusing on a set “end date” for therapy, we focus on achieving specific goals. Therapy is most effective with regular attendance and at-home skill practice.

+ How do you track data and progress during ongoing speech, language, and myofunctional therapy?

We use a data-driven approach, based on goals and progress towards those measurable goals. Each session is recorded, and benchmarks assessed: how many goals were achieved, number of repetitions, percentage correct, etc. Progress is tracked through regularly re-testing, compiling session-to-session data and trends, and parent/school reports.

+ How do you set and work towards goals in a treatment plan?

Treatment plans are based on findings of our in-session evaluations (standardized tests, informal assessment, observation). Each client is given unique goals based on their individual needs.

+ Does insurance cover speech-language therapy?

Bloom submits to insurance and is an in-network provider for Pacific Source, Aetna, and Blue Cross Blue Shield. We do our best to facilitate provider coverage of your therapy costs. Your coverage depends on your health insurance plan. If you have insurance, we won’t bill you until after we’ve submitted and processed your insurance.

+ What is adult speech therapy?

Adults can have speech or language problems which began in childhood, or which started after an illness or injury. Adult speech-language and myofunctional therapy with a speech-language pathologist (SLP) includes evaluation and treatment of adult communication disorders, including speech, language, cognitive communication, social communication, pragmatics, auditory processing, fluency (stuttering), voice disorders, and Augmented/Alternative communication devices (AAC devices).

+ What is pediatric speech therapy?

Pediatric speech, language, and myofunctional therapy helps children with communication challenges and oral motor problems. Children who have difficulty understanding or expressing speech, children with auditory processing, articulation, and social skill challenges, as well have children with trouble chewing or swallowing, can all benefit from pediatric speech therapy.

+ What are the signs of an orofacial myofunctional disorder and how can therapy help?

Orofacial Myofunctional Disorder symptoms include abnormal lip, jaw or tongue position at rest, difficulty swallowing, messy, open-mouthed eating, open-mouthed rest posture, or struggle with speech. Children may have prolonged oral habits such as thumb, finger or pacifier sucking, or nail-biting. Bloom specializes in effective, personalized orofacial myofunctional therapy.

Positive orofacial myofunctional therapy outcomes include a normalizing posture of the mouth, tongue, and lips at rest, nasal breathing patterns, proper chewing and swallowing, ending harmful oral habits such as teeth-grinding, and supporting proper speech development.

+ What are voice disorders?

Laryngitis, incorrect speaking technique, vocal cord lesions, and vocal cord paralysis are the most common voice disorders.

Hoarseness in children can have a variety of causes, most of which are not dangerous. In rare cases, childhood hoarseness can come from life-threatening causes which require immediate medical attention.

For adults, inflamed, paralyzed, or abnormal vocal cords which don’t function correctly may result in a voice disorder. Symptoms include a hoarse or weak voice.

+ What is stuttering?

Also known as disfluency, this speech disorder involves significant and regular problems (such as blocks, prolongations, or repetitions) with normal fluency and speech flow.

It is typical for all children, especially between the ages of 2 and 6, to experience periods of speech disfluency or stuttering as they learn to communicate and talk. Stuttering that lasts over six months may require professional treatment.

Young adult or adult stutterers have trouble expressing what they want to say, prolonging or repeating words, syllables, vowels or consonants, or pausing during because of a difficult sound or word. Stuttering can negatively impact confidence and social interactions.

+ What is autism, and what are the benefits of speech-language therapy for autism?

Autism is a developmental disorder, usually characterized by challenges in social interactions and communications, as well as restricted or repetitive thought and behavior patterns.

Children with autism may have trouble understanding gestures or emotions, following directions, following conventions of conversation. They may struggle with receptive communication, such as understanding others or reading text, or expressive communication, such as talking or writing. Children with autism may repeat words they heard or sound robotic in their speech patterns.

Speech-language and myofunctional therapy can help children with autism improve their verbal and nonverbal communication skills, social cue confidence, conversational skills, playing with others, self-regulation, interacting with peers, expressing ideas, and more.