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Emily has increased her speech skills by our regular participation in the Talk Tools Program (she loves doing her exercises!) and the iCan! Communicate Program. We are so proud of her and all she is doing! She has a new found sense of pride in her accomplishments as well as a desire to try more things independently.
Oral Motor Clinic
Conducted by Renee Roy-Hill M.S., CCC-SLP and Whitney Pimentel MA CCC-SLP
Orlando
Oral motor clinics provide oral placement evaluations and program development for our members. This program is designed for members of any age - from infants to adults - oral motor therapy is a great way to work on speech, eating, articlation and other skills.
A typical evaluation takes 2 hours, while the program plan update for families who have already had an initial evaluation takes 1 ½ hours. Parents and/or caregivers will be in the room for these sessions. If you are working with a therapist we recommend inviting him or her to attend as well. At the conclusion of the therapists work with your child, they will offer impressions and suggestions as if he or she were one of her regularly scheduled clients. We suggest that you bring a video camera to record the evaluation, as no formal evaluation report will be written at that time. Instead, the therapist will write an extensive program plan which will give you step-by-step instructions for each recommended exercise. You will receive this plan in the mail, approximately 2-4 weeks after your appointment.
The cost of a follow up evaluation (meaning you have had one with her before) is $500 and a first time evaluation is $700. This program is highly beneficial, however, the evaluation is a one time visit that provides an outline for an on-going program that must implemented by a parent or speech therapist on a daily or weekly basis. It also requires that you purchase tools (horns, straws, etc.) to implement the program. The FOUNDATION will provide limited scholarships for tool purchase if necessary. It is imperative to have the time and dedication to implement the program if you are applying for an evaluation.
If you are not familiar with Talk Tools or Oral Placement (Motor) Therapy, you can watch the video below by Sara Rosenfeld-Johnson who is the founder of this methodology.
Scheduling
You will be given the scheduling information along with your scholarship confirmation letter. To schedule an appointment you will be required to view a Talk Tools introductory video. Please allow a couple of weeks for viewing as we have a few copies to share between new families. Appointments will only be confirmed once the video has been viewed.
Insurance
Neither The FOUNDATION or our therapists process insurance forms, however, if you are covered by a program that allows you to go 'out of network' some of the cost for your evaluation MAY be covered. It is up to each parent to check with their insurance company to see if this is possible. We request that you do that because if it is possible to cover a portion of your expense than we can offer even more families scholarship money for the clinic. Please note: if you have insurance and your child has any history of feeding difficulties (gagging, reflux, choking, and food aspiration/pneumonia) or you have a plan that covers Speech Therapy, the evaluation or program plan update may be covered. We recommend you verify in advance and to include a letter from your doctor when your insurance paperwork is submitted. Please be mindful that it is the family’s responsibility to contact their health provider, as payment (what is not covered by the scholarship) is expected directly from the family (in the form of a personal check, Visa, MasterCard or American Express).
Cancellation Policy
Please note the typical way the clinics work is with a “21-day cancellation notification” policy, which means they require, a minimum 3 weeks notice for any cancellation. Our goal is to keep costs down for families, we make airline reservations approximately 1 month prior to travel so that we may take advantage of optimal travel fares. Failure to cancel per the standard guidelines will result in a charge of $150.00. This policy is implemented in an effort to avoid further financial burden to the families who honor their commitment and the impact caused by the last-minute withdrawal of a family from the schedule.
Down Syndrome Foundation of Florida
PO Box 533462 Orlando, FL 32853-3462
phone: 407.538.3537
The FOUNDATION is a 501(c)3 your donation is tax deductible
EIN number: 27-2436041