Please note that without member information we cannot guarantee that
your specific plan covers these services. We recommend asking the care
provider before beginning services.
Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS)
429 N. Marion, Suite 203,IL,60302
Get in Contact
(312) 945-8305
talktoomeyspeech@gmail.com
Reviews
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Weve had such a wonderful experience with Talk Toomey Natalie Maddie and team have done an amazing job with our 6 year old son during the past couple of years. They taught him several invaluable toolstechniques he uses regularly to help with his occasional stuttering and the progress hes made since he started working with Natalie and Maddie is incredible. He also enjoys and looks forward to his sessions at Talk Toomey. I highly recommend their services
Chris Sisti
17 March 2024
google review
I highly recommend Talk Toomey Ms. Natalie was wonderful in helping me understand my sons speech needs helping him improve during each session and giving us clear tips on how to practice with him at home. My three year old adores her and had so much fun doing speech therapy. Im so grateful to have found such an amazing resource in Ms. Natalie and Talk Toomey to support our sons speech development.
Emily Catalano
17 March 2024
google review
We would strongly recommend Natalie She is very prepared and has a clear plan for both the session itself but the next few months ahead. She communicates that plan so we have a good sense of what is happening and how we can help our child. Natalie is also highly responsive and would often communicate how the sessions went so that we knew what to work on and where our child was doing well or struggling. She was also flexible if our child was having a tough time and would quickly pivot to find a different route to encourage his participation and engagement instead of trying to force the activity through. This flexibility was key to our child enjoying his time with Natalie.
Nuwan Samaraweera
25 February 2024
google review
My child received services from various therapists over the course of the last 3 12 years. We began during Covid so all of our initial assessments evaluations and therapy sessions were over zoom. One would think that this would make it really difficult but our SLP Natalie made the whole process clear personalized and approachable.We began to see improvements in our daughters speaking within several weeks and over the three years shes gained so much We truly feel that the services we received from Talk Toomey were exactly the right fit for our daughter. She always felt excited to go to speech and I know the SLPs who worked with her truly care for her as a person. I would 1000 recommend Talk Toomey to anyone
Genevieve Sides
17 November 2023
google review
We took both our children 6 and 9 yo to Talk Toomey for minor speech issues and they were great. We saw Nancy and the kids were always excited to go. We didnt continue for too long as we didnt have insurance coverage but they gave our kids the skills needed to hopefully go forward on their own.
Jessica Kumar
17 November 2023
google review
We had amazing experiences at Talk Toomey. Natalie is super engaged on make your life easy and always provide clear and fast answers. Sabrina will be in our heart forever She is FENOMENAL Very smart kind understanding and competent. She builds in such short time an amazing relationship with my son making him love to do the program.
Roberta The Soul
17 October 2023
google review
Our 18month old childs speech was delayed he was not making the age appropriate soundswords. So we sought out Talk Toomey to make sure that he would not fall behind. The speech therapist we worked with was Anneliese. She was wonderful she was patient kind and thorough with him. She would work on age appropriate sounds and words with him while playing games with him. She would give us pointers to work on with him at home and strategies to use. He made huge strides in his speech in just 3 months. We would not hesitate to recommend Talk Toomey and Anneliese.
Edmee Castro
17 September 2023
google review
My daughter has been receiving Speech therapy services Talk Toomey Speech since she aged out of early intervention in 2019.Natalie along with her amazing therapist Kristen Michelle Sabrina have been such a great support team to our family.Individually they guided us during a World Pandemic accommodated us during the transition of Pre-K and most importantly they educated us when we received an official ASD Diagnosis. Each milestone has been less stressful knowing they were all there patiently guiding supporting and loving my daughter.I highly recommend Talk Toomey Speech.
Noemi Mata
17 September 2023
google review
My daughter loved working with Ms. Sabrina Ms. Natalie. She made a lot of progress I would consider her speech to be clear at this point. Her therapists gave us practice tipsdrills to help make the therapy more effective and to keep her from regressing after services were paused for schooling. They were fantastic regarding schedule conflicts and really worked with us and our very packed schedule. Were pausing for the school year but hope to pick back up with them in the summerThey were fantastic
Heather Claxton
17 September 2023
google review
Talk Toomey was absolutely amazing with my son. His speech improved dramatically and he had fun at his sessions. He even requested one additional session at the end so he could tell Michelle all about his first day back to school. The speech program is as wonderful as the therapists that work here. I was always kept up to date and was provided with helpful at home exercises too. I cannot thank them enough for helping my son.
Tricia Armstrong
17 September 2023
Frequently Asked Questions
Speech therapy is almost always recommended for autistic children since many people with autism have difficulty with social communication. Even if a child is very verbal and says a lot of words, they might need to work on communication skills like:
responding to questions
starting or ending conversation
changing conversation topics
using gestures like pointing
understanding other people's body language
Speech therapy is a big focus in early intervention for autistic children and is usually the starting place for recently diagnosed kids. There is a critical period in the brain for language development and so, it's really important to teach language and communication skills as early as possible, especially if there are any delays in that area. Your child will learn effective ways to communicate which will help them grow into more independent and confident individuals.
It might be obvious when a child struggles with speaking —they are very quiet, say only a few words, or don't speak at all.
Spot speech and language delays like a doctor here.
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
“Early Intervention” might be the provider’s way of describing services that they provide to babies or young children. However, it might also indicate that the provider is a vendor for your state’s publicly funded program. This means the services with this provider might be covered by your state!
The first step in accessing these free services from your state is to get an evaluation. The evaluation will help the state determine what services your child qualifies for, if any. You can find your state’s local EI program by clicking here.
When you contact your local center, say “I have concerns about my child’s development and I would like to have my child evaluated to find out if they are eligible for early intervention services.” They will ask screening questions and arrange for an evaluation, which is provided for free.
If your child does not qualify, you can ask your school to evaluate your child for a 504 plan. This article provides more information about the differences between IEPs and 504s.
This happens. The results of the school’s evaluation may be different than your child’s medical diagnosis. It’s also important to remember that school is NOT the final say on your child’s potential. They may offer very little support to your child, underestimate their abilities, or disagree with you on what support your child needs. You will probably need to advocate for the services and support you believe your child needs.
Here are a few alternative options to consider:
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT): CBT helps by identifying and changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. It's useful for those dealing with social anxiety or difficulties. CBT addresses cognitive patterns and provides strategies to manage social challenges.
Group therapy: Group therapy offers a supportive space where individuals can practice social skills. They can feedback from peers and a therapist. It allows interaction with others who understand and learn from each other.
Play-based interventions: Play therapy or play-based interventions work well for younger children or those who learn through experiences. Play activities target specific social skills like turn-taking and problem-solving in a safe and engaging setting.
Get in touch with Natalie Toomey, Speech/Language Therapist