Behavioral & Counseling Services - Crystal Lake South

The goal of speech therapy is to help your child communicate effectively with other people across all environments. This may take the form of using gestures, simple signs, verbal speech, and Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC).

Some other common things speech therapists can help with:

• Nonverbal skills, such as signs or gestures
• Forming speech in a clearer way
• Communicating thoughts and feelings clearly
• Understanding and responding to questions
• Discerning facial expressions and their corresponding emotions
• Noticing and understanding body language
• Feeding and swallowing
• Stuttering

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a therapy rooted in the science of learning and behavior. Using principles of ABA, children and adults can learn to improve their communication skills, social skills, and daily living skills while also addressing problematic or challenging behaviors. The primary goal of ABA therapy is to teach helpful skills that promote independence and reduce harmful behaviors. Here's our complete guide to everything you need to know about ABA therapy.

It's a big decision to make for your family! Applied behavior analysis (ABA) seeks to improve communication skills, introduce productive habits, and reduce harmful behaviors. Watch out for ABA providers who look to "cure" autism.

High quality ABA therapy does exist where the goal is not to “fix” children, make them appear “less autistic”, or change who they are. The goal is to help people learn all that they can so they can live to their potential while embracing their unique, individual personality traits. Here's our complete guide to start and end ABA therapy.

ABA is usually covered by insurance if you have an autism diagnosis. Autism is typically the only diagnosis insurance will authorize for ABA services since its benefits have been researched extensively.

Always check with your specific insurance plan to confirm that ABA is covered for your child’s diagnoses and that the provider you are seeking care at is in-network. Here's our complete guide to everything you need to know about ABA therapy.

Music therapy can take place in a variety of settings including schools, hospitals, the child’s own home, rehabilitation centers, and clinics.

A therapy session will vary from child to child, depending on the child’s specific needs. Before your child starts music therapy, their music therapist will develop a personalized treatment plan for your child. Depending on your child’s goals their treatment may involve singing, dancing, listening to music, playing an instrument, or even composing music.

Once you find a music therapist, the therapist will perform an evaluation to determine if music therapy is a good fit for your child as well as determine possible goals. The evaluation will be comprehensive and look at your child’s response to a variety of musical stimuli, including giving your child an opportunity to play with instruments or listen to a variety of music types.

Evaluations will vary based on setting. For example, private practice has a number of evaluation tools while schools typically use an evaluation tool called the SEMTAP (special education music therapy assessment protocol) that focuses on looking at a student’s IEP goals and how or if the addition of music aligns with their IEP goals.

There is no one way to provide or practice art therapy. Sessions will vary depending on your child's specific needs and their therapist. A session may be free-flowing or very structured, open-ended, or focused on a specific goal.

A session may start with traditional talk therapy, or general art making or play for wellness or grounding. Sessions may involve specific interventions, which can result in a special product. The special product can help the child to experience or view their emotions, thoughts, and beliefs in a new way.

Yes! Research has found that art therapy can help reduce the symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns. A recent study found that autistic children who participated in art therapy showed improvement in their emotional regulation, as well as their verbal and nonverbal communication skills.