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4 Steps to Maximize your Therapy Sessions

You as parents can be one of the key ingredients to maximizing our efficiency in therapy. You spend the most amount of time with your child and while we can’t expect every parent-child interaction to target therapy goals, there is so much we can do to empower you to become consistently active participants in the therapy process, from day one in therapy up to discharge. Here are 4 steps you can take to get the most out of your child’s therapy sessions.


Step 1: 

Establish a routine of communication with your therapist. I tell parents that after an initial period of rapport-building and establishing therapy goals, you will assign them “homework” in the form of specific, brief, but frequently conducted practice sessions. If possible, I bring parents into the session at least every month for a few minutes to show them what we are working on and how their child is responding. If this isn’t possible, I try to communicate over the phone for a few minutes. I personally prefer this to email because I’ve found it’s more efficient (despite the occasional games of phone tag) and effective, resulting in fewer misunderstandings.

Step 2: 

Ask your therapist to be specific with recommendations and homework. You as parents are busy and often have to juggle many different stresses and responsibilities. Understanding exactly what your therapist is recommending and assigning at home will save you time and reduce frustration.

Step 3: 

The third suggestion I would make is to be realistic. Your therapist should assign no more than five minutes of homework every day. We all lead busy lives, so understanding what you will be able to consistently do with your child is important. Even this seemingly small amount of time will have a huge and lasting impact on your child’s success in therapy.

Step 4: 

Finally, make sure your therapist tailors the home-based therapy program to your individual family. Let your therapist know your capacity to follow through. Are you tech-savvy? Or do you prefer handwritten instructions? Also, become a partner with your therapist on implementing a reward system in your home and during therapy sessions that really motivates your child. Do frequent little rewards work best? Or does your child prefer to work up to a larger goal over time?

It’s important to remember that your therapist and you are partners in therapy, and should be actively engaging your child as much as possible as soon as possible. This requires open lines of communication, being realistic and specific, and putting some thought into how each home-based program may be translated into your home environment. If you follow these 4 steps, I am sure you will see great success in your child’s abilities!

 

 

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Patient Reviews

LLA Therapy

Patient Reviews

Crystal Scheibe

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Great place, glad we found them. Been going to Medina over 2 months now and he loves Lauryn and Kyler. Wish they had more ABA therapy places available... live in Wooster and long drive everyday.

Karrie Swan LaRock

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My 11 year old son has dyslexia and has made noticeable gains in working At LLA THERAPY. Katie is strong in her approach toward him and also keeps him comfortable enough to perform well. We will continue visiting both the Fairlawn and Hudson offices and recommend them highly.

Ron Monroe

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My 9 year old just completed about 9 months of weekly speech sessions (due to his stuttering) with Matt Hagge at LLA and we are thrilled with the experience and results. What I thought might be a negative (what kid really wants to go to speech class?) was made very positive by Matt, and my son never hesitated or complained when we talked about class. He really enjoyed it and really took what Matt taught him to heart. His speech has been greatly improved and we definitely recommend LLA. Thank you so much!

Heather Dougherty-Pantoja

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My son’s Occupational Therapist, Jess, is an amazing OT! She gives practical tips on working with my son at home and school!

Terri Apgar

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I cannot say enough good things about LLA Therapy. My daughter was a client of Teal Simmons’ for approximately 2 years and was just released from speech therapy! She was diagnosed with Apraxia in 2015 and worked with Teal twice a week. Through Teal’s application of PROMPT therapy, my daughter had age-appropriate speech after one year. All of the staff we interacted with at LLA were absolutely wonderful. They really care about what they do and making sure your child achieves their goals.

Kelli Geisler Davisson

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LLA Therapy has been an excellent experience for my son as well as my family! My son always asks, "When can I go see Ms. Jeannine again, is it Monday??" He has also made huge gains in only 5 months! I would highly recommend LLA and have already shared my experience with friends looking for services!

Victoria Hansford-Price

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We are so grateful for our Speech Therapist Ms.Teal. We have seen a great improvement with our sons confidence and communication abilities since we have started "Prompt" therapy. What we love the most about LLA and Ms. Teal is that Kohl feels comfortable and relaxed which has played a critical role in his progress. Thank you Ms. Teal for all you have done.

Laura Lee Hogsett

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They have helped in numerous ways. Speech, OT and behavioral. I've had numerous compliments on my son's progress thanks in very large part to LLA. I would recommend LLA before I recommend our local children's hospitals, though they are good, they don't have the staff that LLA does.

Amy Furukawa

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We had a great experience with Matt Hagge at LLA! Our Middle School age son was becoming very conscious of his voice, which is nasal due to a cleft palate. Matt helped him to better form his sounds and project his voice in a way that makes the unavoidable nasality less noticeable.Our son is more confident and outgoing & even took on a speaking role in the church play. Matt has the perfect personality to relate with our son, and we would recommend him to anyone needing speech therapy services!

Jessica Havalotti

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LLA Therapy has been an excellent experience for our daughter. I would highly recommend LLA. Miss Grace was so amazing and I can't believe how quickly our daughter showed improvement. Thank you!
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