GROUP SERVICES
GROUPS
GROUPS
BABY SIGN & PLAY
TODDLER TALK TIME
WORD PLAY!
PRESCHOOL PLAYGROUPS
SPEECH BUDDIES
SOCIAL LANGUAGE GROUPS
TEEN TALK
FLUENCY FRIENDS
ACCENT MODIFICATION
COCHLEAR IMPLANT SUPPORT
PARENT DISCUSSION & SUPPORT
WORKSHOPS & IN-SERVICES
THE BENEFITS OF GROUPS
Below you will find information about the many groups and support services that are available for our clients. We make our groups FUN, EDUCATIONAL, PRODUCTIVE, and ENJOYABLE for all!
While our pediatric and adult clients often receive individual services, they also enjoy and benefit greatly from working with peers. Groups allow clients to communicate with others and practice their developing skills in more natural activities and conversations. Our speech-language pathologists guide and support each member in the group to get the most out of every interaction and conversation.
Our team values groups as an excellent way for clients to start carrying over skills to different social environments. We enjoy watching our client's excitement when their communicative attempts are well received in a positive atmosphere with peers. REGISTER TODAY! 510-433-0123
TODDLER GROUPS:
BABY SIGN & PLAY
Parent-Infant Groups
Newborns - 2 years
6 week sessions
Our Baby Sign & Play Groups are fun for toddlers and parents!
We invite you and your child to join us in the fun world of signs, as we play, sing, introduce new vocabulary words and different themes on a weekly basis. We celebrate when your little one starts expressing their needs to you! Please sign up in advance, and tell a friend! The more the merrier!
We look forward to meeting you and your child!
Signs help children build vocabulary, learn to express their needs, make requests, and reduce tantrums and frustrations. Signs are a great way to build the bridge between the non-verbal child and starting first words.
REGISTER TODAY! (510) 433-0123 or email us!
TODDLER TALK TIME
Speech & Language
Playgroups for 2 year olds
Your toddler will love playing and learning while exploring a variety of activities with peers! Different themes are introduced weekly during circle time, play with peers, snack, music, and other exciting sensory and physical activities. These groups are for 2 year olds, who would benefit from a little boost in speech, language, and social skills development. This group is often recommended after participating in Baby Sign & Play.
Our experienced and friendly speech-language pathologists and SLP assistants lead these groups. They are available to give parents the tools and guidance they need to learn how to continue to stimulate language in the home and other natural environments. Children are encouraged to participate in activities while developing friendships and connections to other toddlers. Signs are used for those who are benefiting from them.
Toddler Talk Time is perfect for typically developing toddlers as well as those with identified speech, language, or other developmental delays. This is a fun time for all! Parents are supported and develop a connection with other parents while they wait or engage with the group as needed. Our professionals monitor and target each child's speech and language needs. Insurance plans may cover this service.
PRESCHOOL & ELEMENTARY GROUPS
WORD PLAY!
Pre-School Social-Language Playgroups Ages 3-5
What better way for pre-schoolers to learn than through songs, art, sensory activities, stories, imaginative play with peers, creative snacks, and theme based games! These groups are geared toward the pre-school child. Kindergarten readiness skills are introduced through a wide variety of activities. Individual speech, language, and social skills needs are addressed throughout the group session with peers.
Speech-language pathologists lead these groups with SLP Assistants. They model language and teach social skills, while assisting in the development of peer relationships and communication skills. New concepts and vocabulary are introduced in the contexts of natural play and daily life activities. Parents are given ideas for the carry-over of new skills to the home and other environments. Siblings are encouraged to participate when space is available. Sessions end 10 minutes early to accommodate parent updates.
Word Play Groups Focus On: Turn-taking, relationship building, sharing, joint attention, following directions, answering questions, learning new vocabulary and concepts, increasing sentence lengths, grammar development, initiating conversations, responding to peers, self regulation, reading facial, tone, and gestural cues, spatial awareness, problem solving, and more!
REGISTER TODAY! (510) 433-0123 or email us!
SPEECH BUDDIES
Practicing Articulation Skills With Peers - Grouped By Age
45 Minute Sessions
Clients of all ages enjoy practicing their articulation skills with peers who have similar goals. When children have similar goals, or have reached a competent level of accuracy with their speech sound productions during individual therapy sessions, they often benefit from practicing their speech skills in more natural settings and activities with new listeners.
Articulation, apraxia of speech, and phonology buddy groups are helpful for children of all ages. When clients are paired with peers their age they have fun using their skills during fun games and conversations together. This is a different than working directly with their adult speech-language pathologist or practicing with their parents. Children feel excited and rewarded when peers understand them and are working on the same goals. They build self confidence and relationships.
During Speech Buddies, the SLP is there to facilitate conversations, play, and games, and to give reminders, cues, and models of sound placements when needed. Clients become more spontaneous, begin to self-correct, and enjoy being successful while developing friendships.
SOCIAL LANGUAGE GROUPS
Kinder-Prep 5-6 year olds
Contact us for older groups
Our pragmatic language groups provide support and guidance for children who struggle to understand the non-verbal aspects of language and who have difficulty using appropriate conversation skills with peers and others. Social thinking can be difficult for children to master, particularly for those with autism, Asperger's Sydrome, PDD-NOS, non-verbal learning disabilities, social anxieties, or other developmental disabilities. We assist children by giving them the tools they need to engage more appropriately with peers, while involved in group activities.
We strive to help boost self-esteem, develop connections with others, and to carry skills over to the home, school, and daily activities. We incorporate social stories, themes from Michelle Garcia Winner's Social Thinking ® programs, and a variety of other pragmatic programs to meet each group and child's individual needs.
Social Language Groups Help Clients: Become more aware of others' cues and perspectives, better interpret facial expressions, emotions, and tone of voice, learn physical boundaries, maintain topics, use appropriate conversational language, help with problem solving, and more.
Your insurance may cover this service! Contact us for group days and times, and we will place your child with the appropriate peer group. Sessions end 10 minutes early to accommodate parent updates.
REGISTER TODAY! (510) 433-0123 email us!
TEEN & ADULT GROUPS
TEEN TALK
Social Thinking ® & Support Groups for Teens
Teens are more comfortable opening up and discussing their speech, language, and social skill difficulties when they are able to connect with peers in a safe environment with the guidance of a supportive experienced group facilitator. Adolescence can be a challenging time, particularly for those with learning differences. It can be difficult to build or maintain relationships with peers, develop self-confidence, and explore independence. During this time it is important for teens to learn coping skills and strategies. We address Social Thinking ® strategies to better equip our teens for the challenges they may face as they approach adulthood.
Our groups meet 1-2 times a week and cover topics related to school, friendships, home life, preparation for college, and work situations. Individual goals for each participant are addressed in the group setting during stimulating conversations, activities, and natural situations out in the community.
In Teen Talk We Focus On: Problem solving, conversation skills, turn-taking, perspective taking, friendship building, organization, time management, understanding non-verbal communication, facial expressions, tone of voice, interviews, job skills, team work, college preparation, self-advocacy skills, and negotiating. We discuss ways to reduce anxieties and how to handle the unexpected. There is a focus on positive affirmations and building self confidence.
FLUENCY FRIENDS
Practicing Fluency Techniques
with Peers
Stuttering, cluttering, and other fluency disorders can be challenging, embarrassing, and frustrating for children and adults. Clients sometimes feel more confident knowing they are not alone in their journey to modify and conquer their fluency difficulties when they meet peers on the same quest.
We connect families and clients of similar ages, and provide group sessions where new friends give each other feedback and practice their skills in a caring, comfortable, and safe environment. Stimulating activities and conversation topics are introduced by our experienced speech-language pathologists. Contact us for class days and times. Insurance carriers typically cover fluency therapy.
In addition to one-on-one and group fluency sessions, members of our team participate and help run monthly meetings with the National Stuttering Association's Bay Area chapter. This is also a great way to connect with others with stuttering and fluency issues and their families, and to find support from speech-language pathologists and family members. This group provides updates about new research and programs and a variety of family friendly activities. We look forward to meeting you or your child!
ACCENT
MODIFICATION
Individual & Small Groups for Professionals
Educators, professionals in various work settings, and college students frequently contact our team in search of ways to learn how to communicate with peers and colleagues more clearly. When the articulation and inflection characteristics from one's native language carries over to English and interferes with an attempt to get a message across to others efficiently and effectively, it can be frustrating to the speaker and the listener.
As speech-language pathologists, our team members have the skills to identify where the message breakdown is occurring. Whether differences are in articulation skills, oral-motor coordination issues, hearing and identifying differences in sounds, attending to varying intonation, rate, or pitch, or targeting grammatical issues, we help identify and these areas. We assist the speaker in changing habits and training their ear to be able to imitate and produce English sounds and phrases. We give practice activities and ideas for carrying skills over to the home, work place, natural environments and daily activities.
It is not our goal to completely eliminate an accent. Rather to train the speaker to begin to self-correct and modify their behaviors to become clearer to others. This can be done in individual and small group sessions. We enjoy working with people from many different countries and learning about their culture and background!
PARENT DISCUSSION & SUPPORT GROUPS
Parents of children who have speech and language delays, hearing loss, developmental delays, autism, or other challenges often feel alone, confused about services, frustrated with their medical or educational programs, or lack of services, and do not know where to turn.
Our team provides support, guidance, and family advocacy in regards to attending meetings, writing reports, and giving advice related to speech and language services. Our client and their family's best interest is our main concern. We provide monthly meetings for caregivers to connect with each other, where they meet others, express concerns, advances in research, other programs they have found helpful for their child, get answers to questions, and to feel connected with others facing similar issues. Sometimes it just helps to have other parents to talk to. Please contact us if you would like to attend a parent group.
COCHLEAR IMPLANT DISCUSSION & SUPPORT
Individuals who have received a cochlear implant often enjoy meeting others who are learning to hear with their new device. This is a way to connect to others, ask questions, learn about more listening practice ideas, discuss personal hearing journeys, and discuss the experiences of others. We hold quarterly meetings.
Please contact us if you are interested in joining our group!
WORKSHOPS &
IN-SERVICES
For Schools, Parent Groups, Physicians, Libraries, etc.
Our staff is happy to provide special workshops on topics such as early intervention, what apps may be helpful for learning, how to carry-over skills to natural environments, etc. We also provide FREE in-services for teachers, caregivers, physicians, and the general public. We often speak at public libraries for parent groups, and parent resource fairs.
Education and early identification of speech and language delays is our goal. We hope to help the general public become more sensitive to learning differences, and aware of what speech and language delays and disorders are. We explain the "red flags" we look for, and what services are available for all ages.
If your pre-school, elementary school, or parent group would be interested in a free in-service, please contact us! The feedback we get from teachers and parents is always very positive. Educators are eager to help their students and to better understand how children learn and why they may be having difficulties.
Staff development meetings are the perfect time for us to stop in and share helpful tips, and it is FREE!
Speech-Language Pathology
510.433.0123
Words Build Worlds
We Build Them Together
Let Us Be Your Guide On Your Communication Journey!
