Community Based Sessions

There are a plethora of therapy centers and group therapy options for younger aged children but none that truly cater to preteens and teenagers. We, at Bloom aim to change this by introducing Community Based Sessions.
*Community-based sessions can be an excellent way to support social and emotional development while fostering a sense of belonging and connection.*

Imagine walking around your favorite store. You find the items on your list, navigate your cart around other customers, ask an employee to help you find an item, and wait your turn to pay at the checkout line. This simple trip requires the use of language, fluency, articulation, and social skills. Community Based Therapy gives one an opportunity to target all of them.

Community based therapy is the systematic process of teaching functional skills in their natural environment. These sessions can be integrated into the therapy plan for children with a variety of communication disorders including language delay, fluency disorder, pragmatic deficits, or complex communication needs. Community based sessions, when appropriate, provide a unique opportunity to bring therapy into the real world.

**What does community based therapy look like?**

When working in the community, sessions can take place anywhere the teen/preteen might need the support. If he/she stutters when talking with their peers the therapist would target fluency strategies at a neighborhood park. A session at the grocery store is a great way to target their expressive language needs and help them shop for preferred food. The idea is to take the skills targeted in therapy to actual locations the teen/preteen may use it. The benefit of using the community setting comes from the therapist’s ability to make therapy meaningful to the teen/preteen.

Encouraging parent participation

Parents and caregivers are an essential part of the therapeutic team, but traditional therapy can leave them feeling like outsiders. Even when the SLP provides suggestions for home practice, most caregivers are more comfortable leaving the therapy to the experts. Community based therapy gives parents a chance to BE the expert, by focusing on activities they regularly participate in, which empowers them to continue the work once the session is done.

Maximizing potential outcomes

The ultimate goal of speech therapy is for individuals to generalize their skills- meaning they are able to use the skill targeted in the real world setting where it is required. Typically the SLP will target a skill, say ordering from a menu, in a structured therapy session and when the client can order in therapy they go to a restaurant to practice. Through community based therapy the individual learns the skills in the setting where it’s needed so generalization happens naturally. This allows for maximization of therapy by targeting more skills in the same amount of time, simply by eliminating the need to explicitly teach generalization.

When do these community sessions take place?

These sessions are appropriate for teens and preteens.
Most of our clients attend school and therefore, the best time to conduct this would be during summer break, midterm or end of term breaks.
Sessions will be an hour long each.
The frequency of the sessions will be determined along with your Speech Therapist.