Skip to main content

Hello! Welcome to Our New Blog




As you can see from the title, Rehab Specialists will be hosting a blog where we will be posting information about speech and language therapy every Monday. This will generally serve to get information out to the public on what we do as Speech-Language Pathologists and how speech therapy can help you or your loved ones. We would also like to build this blog to serve as a space where caretakers can connect and where you can get your questions answered by professionals. The therapists in this office work with all populations in most settings within the Pittsburgh area. We hope to cover a variety of issues for professionals, parents, and clients and talk about disorders which may affect both children and adults. Please check back often and engage in these talks so we get a sense of what the people reading this blog may be interested in learning. The two main therapists who will be contributing to this blog include Kathleen Dames and Julie Stroup. Kathleen mainly works with pediatric populations in a variety of placements including schools, early intervention, consultation for learning institutions, and here in the office. Julie also works with children in those settings but she has a specialty with swallowing and alternative communication options for adults with severe physical and intellectual disabilities. Comment below with any thoughts, comments, or questions for us. Until next time!

Kathleen and Julie

(Originally posted 9/4/18)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What are Neurological Soft Signs?

Although the term “Neurological Soft Signs (NSS)” sounds like it may be referring to  signs of a stroke or other impairment, it actually refers to something much more subtle. The reason we say “sift” signs is because NSS refers to a series of testable reflexes, movements, and sensory experiences that may suggest that there is a neurological abnormality this is not related to a specific area of the brain or a specific disorder. Many of these signs are developmental and can be just a delay that is “grown out of.” However, they are also precursory signs that another more serious impairment may be the underlying cause of these abnormalities. Neurological soft signs are typically broken into three subcategories: 1.        Sensory integration which may include a.        Low muscle tone (hypotonia): signs of this would include toe-walking, difficulty feeding, a lax tongue, a floppy head as a baby, delayed physical...
1 comment
Read more

2019 Gift Guide

Maybe you are a parent like me: making a list, checking it twice, and slowly purchasing your holiday gifts each pay. Maybe you’re like my dad and do all of your holiday shopping on Christmas Eve at 8 PM. However you purchase holiday gifts, sometimes we all need a little inspiration. From following some wonderful accounts on social media, like the speech-pathologist ran @learnwithless on Instagram or @theminimalists across various media platforms (podcasts, YouTube, Instagram), I have adopted a “less is more” approach to Christmas this year. I like the saying, “Something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read” as a jumping off point to my holiday gifts for my own children. You as a parent to kiddos coming to speech, however, may be interested in gifts that can help with your child’s communication goals. Fear not: we have created this handy 2019 gift guide 😊 We tried to curate “out of the box” gifts that will still bring value to your child’...
Post a Comment
Read more

5 Questions With...Kathy Helfrich-Miller: What is Childhood Apraxia of Speech?

Childhood Apraxia of Speech Since I have been at Rehabilitation Specialists, I have worked with many children with the diagnosis of Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS). However, I have been hesitant to write a blog post about this disorder. There is so much misinformation on the web as a whole; yet, there is so much good information on www.apraxia-kids.org that I felt like I did not want to be redundant. However, When I was a student at Duquesne University, I was fascinated by this motor speech disorder and actively asked to work with individuals with this diagnosis. I believe this is why for my last rotation of clinicals, I was sent here to work with Kathy Helfrich-Miller. Kathy retired this January and asked Julie and I to take over her life’s work. However, she has not completely left Rehab Specialists-- she still mentors us in many ways! So, as she taught me everything I know about apraxia, I asked her to be the guest expert for this installment of “5 Questions With…” series. ...
Post a Comment
Read more