It is clear that our therapists care about their work and put in the extra effort needed to be successful. Their positive attitudes help us all continue to feel motivated! The team finds value in being well-researched and their thought-out ideas move us forward in becoming better. There is no better place to work and grow professionally!
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The global pandemic has hit all aspects of daily life. And when the going gets tough, you see how an organization responds to a crisis. I work for the Scottish Rite Childhood Language Center. Our Board of Directors has supported employees with no loss of pay or benefits. We worked from home for a time and figured out how to keep going, in light of the dangers of face-to-face encounters. Many employers either could not, or chose not to support their staff, but our Board of Directors gave us the confidence to do our best. This is by far one of the finest employers I have ever worked with. They are a class act!
First of all thank you for providing us with the opportunity to share our experiences with the Scottish Rite Childhood Language Center. The Center has been serving our family since roughly June, 2018. We were introduced to the Center when they provided speech and hearing screenings at our son, Jett’s Preschool. Following the screening we came in for an Evaluation with Heidi Chew and Laurie Clifton. At the time of the screening we had a three week old baby and the Staff was very accommodating of both our schedules and of our new little one. Laurie did an amazing job making Jett feel welcomed and comfortable during the hearing screening and Heidi provided a very thorough evaluation of Jett’s speech while at the same time making him feel at ease and have fun.
Heidi initially recommended implementing at-home strategies to assist with Jett’s speech and also said she’d follow up in a few months. True to her word Heidi followed up at which point we requested speech therapy. Heidi did an amazing job working with our time constraints and schedules and scheduled Jett’s therapy with Gina Urban-Dwyer. At first we were hesitant as we loved how Heidi worked with Jett and communicated with us, however, we quickly learned we were in for a real treat with Gina.
Gina worked with Jett approximately a year prior to retiring this past June and both Jett and I looked forward to his sessions with Gina. Gina was very creative and very thoughtful when she worked with Jett. She really took the time to listen and learn what he was passionate about (dinosaurs, space and underwater creatures) and would pick activities, books and games that matched his passions to keep him engaged. I greatly appreciated how thoughtful and planned out her sessions were—for each session she’d have the activities laid out and she and Jett collaborated on a plan—Gina had first pick and then Jett. It really helped Jett stay engaged and have a vested interest in finishing each activity. Though a small space, Gina really worked all corners of her room with Jett—they’d often jump on the trampoline, play on the floor or shoot starts around the room—all very creative ways to keep Jett vested in what he was learning. Our love for Gina grew over the past year and we felt like she was part of our family—often asking how we were doing personally, etc. Jett loved bringing her art projects and fruit (we love to go to “pick your own” fruit places as a family).
We were extremely sad to hear of Gina’s retirement, but she did a wonderful job transitioning us to Lauren Carpenter. Gina, Lauren and Jett did a shared session prior to Gina’s departure and that was a wonderful way of transitioning Jett from Gina to Lauren. Fortunately, after just a few sessions Jett has become just as enamored with Lauren! Lauren too does a wonderful job engaging Jett—I like that she gets down on Jett’s level and becomes one of the children.
Jett has had physical and occupational therapy, so I’ve interacted with other similar providers and beyond just the therapists themselves there are other things I love about the Scottish Rite. I bring Jett’s brother, (16 Months) to 90% of Jett’s appointments and the Administrate Staff is always so welcoming and inviting. I greatly appreciate that there are toys and things to keep him busy while I watch Jett on the monitors. There is nothing harder than attending a therapy session for Jett and having nothing for his brother to do in a waiting room. It’s such a simple thing to have toys to keep siblings engaged and yet few places do it. The Staff is a pleasure to engage with and always so willing to lending a helping hand whether it be with deciphering insurance claims or playing with our youngest while I run to the bathroom child free!
Finally, I cannot say enough wonderful things about the monitoring equipment! It is so beneficial to be able to watch therapy sessions via a monitor rather than listening to an update from the therapist after the fact. Don’t get me wrong the one-on-one therapist reviews are helpful, but being able to watch the sessions on a monitor is so wonderful—it not only allows me as a parent to provide updates to the therapists based on what I saw in the session, but it allows me the ability to make note of things we could do at home. The monitors are also a great way to give Jett the independence to work one on one with a therapists but also the security of knowing that I’m right around the corner watching. I wish that this was available at Jett’s occupational therapy appointments.
My husband and I both received speech therapy as children and it’s looking like our now sixteen month old, will be next in line. Without hesitation we’ll look to the Scottish Rite for therapy services for him.
We were fortunate to find the Scottish Rite and the amazing women who work there both now and in the past. The Scottish Rite provides amazing personalized services in an environment where we often feel as though we are the only clients because of the Staff’s unparalleled passion, dedication, love and desire to know our Family on a personal level.
My son Wyatt is diagnosed with an articulation disorder, expressive language delay, Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD), ADHD and dyslexia. He first started receiving speech therapy at 18 months old through our local children's hospital. When he aged out of the program, he began therapy through the public school system. He wasn't progressing and needed more intensive support but my insurance company didn't provide benefits for speech therapy.
Enter the Scottish Rite Childhood Language Center. Wyatt finally got the support he needed! He has received services there for more than four years now. Everyone there - from the secretary, to the audiologist, the director and, of course, the speech language pathologists - have been friendly, positive and hard-working, as well as experienced and knowledgeable. They involve the parent every step of the way, providing advice and guidance. And Wyatt enjoys attending his sessions because they're fun! I especially appreciate that I'm able to watch his sessions from another room, and he has access to computer programs that we wouldn't be able to afford on our own. A test that led to his CAPD diagnosis was expensive, but SRCLC paid for it.
Simply put – you can’t put a price tag on being able to understand and communicate with your child. You can’t put a price on seeing your child succeed and his self-confidence increase. In reality, though, there IS a price for these things. Thanks to the financial aid SRCLC provides, we don’t have to worry about that. We can focus on what’s really important – Wyatt.
My daughter has made so much improvement in her speech/language since starting her 4 months ago. I love the family involvement. They provide me as the mother information to how to help my daughter at home.
When we came to the Childhood Language Center we had already had two years of speech therapy through the public schools but were growing more and more frustrated. We - his family - saw his limitless potential and all he was capable of, but they didn't see him as we saw him - they saw what he could not do. They had no answers just reasons we should lower our expectations for his future.
That was never going to be an option.
But, our resources were limited. The school clearly lacked the expertise needed, but Insurance refused to pay for speech and paying for it out of pocket was difficult when at the time we were looking for full-time work. We just wanted answers - to know why our son was trying so hard but still wouldn't say two words in class. Why he still hadn't found his words.
But - when we walked through the doors at the Childhood Language Center we were met by people who saw our child the way we saw him. Who saw what he was capable of. Their expertise and experience was obvious from the first visit. Our amazing therapist gave us direction, gave us hope and gave us answers. Week after week she has shown such patience and persistence and become a true partner in our child's progress. This was the one place we heard Yes - We know Apraxia. and Yes we can help. Even with a diagnosis insurance refused to pay a dime - but you still said Yes. You still let us keep waking through your doors. And the progress has been extraordinary. He is finding his words - one hard fought sound at a time - and finding his voice.
Recently the school removed whole sections of communication goals from his plan. Not because they were still lowering expectations but because he had just simply exceeded the progress they believed was even possible. The other day his teacher stopped me to say she was outside the room and heard a child's voice loudly and clearly talking about a math exercise to their friends. It was a little TOO loud so she was going to hurry back into the class and correct them, and then to her surprise she saw the clear, confident voice she had heard all the way down the hall was our son's. The voice of the very same child who just a year and a half ago before never said two words in class now needed to be told to keep it down. I'm not sure too many parents have had a teacher beaming when they report a child is disrupting class with too much talking.
And maybe that's just a small thing. But in our family it was not a small thing at all. It is something to celebrate - and it is a gift - a gift you helped to give – you helped our son find his voice and we will be forever grateful.
This place has been an amazing fit for our child. All of the staff are very attentive, personal and make my child excited to come here and learn! We are so grateful for all of their help!
Everyone at this center has been actively involved in our kiddo's progress and they are consistently professional. Though we don't see many other teens there seeking therapy, he never seems to feel out of place. We're just so thankful this Center is here! And his therapist, Elizabeth, is beyond wonderful.
Scottish Rite has been amazing to work with. From the initial evaluation to our continued weekly therapy sessions, it has been a great experience. We have seen growth in our son and we know that his therapist truly cares about his progress. The office is also amazing and always greets us with a smile. I would recommend the center to anyone looking for speech therapy services for their children. I really appreciate how they have worked with our family to make therapy happen for my son.
Scottish Rite Childhood Language Center has been my employer for just over a year. I look forward to coming to work every day in my capacity as the administrative assistant. It is my good fortune to greet the families as they come in for weekly therapy sessions. In this way, I get to contribute a little toward making the students more confident in their ability to make small talk, to maintain eye contact, to get over fear of talking to people they don't know well. I also have a front row seat to the progress each child makes as the weeks go by. A child may come to see us who doesn't speak at all, and soon, they are talking up a storm, and the parents want to know how to get them to stop! I leave work every day feeling like I've helped a tiny bit toward making children confident communicators. This is a wonderful place to be an employee.
The Scottish Rite Childhood Language Center is a wonderful place. Two of my three children attend weekly for speech therapy, and they each love it so much. The pathologists are warm, engaging and highly-skilled. They are patient and extremely personable. I've seen them work with other families, and I've noticed how accommodating and kind they are to everyone who comes through the door. The administrative team goes above and beyond to greet, assist with insurance, welcome siblings, and provide a wonderfully welcoming and helpful environment. The facility is kid-friendly and fun for siblings and parents/guardians. We feel very fortunate to have found such a fantastic and loving language center for our family!
My son, now 7 1/2, has been receiving speech and language services at SRCLC for about 3 years. He was diagnosed with severe Apraxia at age 3 and was completely non-verbal. We were blessed to find a private therapist who brought him into the "speaking" world, and blessed again to then have SRCLC continue with the articulation issues and more importantly, focus on the language aspects of his disability. As a parent of a non-verbal child, all you want is for him to speak. It's easy to forget about the language component; e.g., does he understand or can he process what you are saying? It's been a long road, but SRCLC has made it tremendously easier. With skilled, caring therapists, my son has made great strides with his speech and overall academics. We have recommended SRCLC to many friends with children who have speech issues. We feel lucky to be a worthy recipient of their services.
My son, who is almost 14 years old, and has mild to moderate physical and cognitive disabilities, has been receiving speech therapy at SRCLC for as long as I can remember. He has speech and language difficulties related to low muscle tone and developmental delays. Our insurance stopped paying for speech therapy after 3 months, and said that he would not be eligible for further coverage unless he had a new and unrelated diagnosis. The Scottish Rite provides speech therapy services on a sliding fee based on income. His therapist is one of the most skilled, caring and dedicated professionals who has worked with my son (and there have been many). Every week I am impressed to see how she works with him creatively and respectfully and is able to pull from him things I was not sure he could do. The other staff at SRCLC are always helpful kind and courteous. I have recommended this facility to many friends and neighbors and will continue to do so in the future!