Services

Our speech-language pathologists consist of a group of skilled and knowledgeable individuals who have experience treating children with a variety of developmental disorders. Many of the speech-language pathologists on our team specialize in treating children with the following:

• Articulation delays/disorders and verbal apraxia
• Oral-motor weakness/dysfunction
• Delayed/disordered language development
• Auditory Processing Disorder
• Pragmatic/social language disorders
• Tongue thrust swallowing disorders
• Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC) evaluations and therapy
• Programming AAC devices (low to high tech); parent training
• Parent consultation and counseling
• Consultation with school districts and other professionals to coordinate services

Treatment Plans

• PROMPT therapy (Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets)
• Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing
• Social Thinking®
• Zones of Regulation®

Our reading specialist, who is also a certified speech-language pathologist, conducts language-based reading therapy by implementing multi-sensory teaching methods. Instruction promotes improved phonics, reading, writing, vocabulary, comprehension and speaking skills.

Treatment Plans

• Orton–Gillingham approach to reading instruction

Pediatric occupational therapy addresses children’s “occupations,” or the activities they engage in on a daily basis be that tying their shoes, writing their name, stacking blocks, or navigating a playground. Remediating and teaching these basic life skills allows children to develop to their fullest potential and engage in age-appropriate activities with increased independence and confidence.

Our occupational therapists provide evaluation, treatment and collaboration in the following areas of development:

• Sensory Processing
• Fine Motor
• Visual Motor
• Gross Motor
• Motor Planning
• Development of self-help skills
• Parent consultation and counseling
• Consultation with school districts and other professionals to coordinate services

Treatment Plans

• Social Thinking®
• Zones of Regulation®
• The Listening Program®
• Therapeutic Listening®
• Handwriting Without Tears®
• Wilbarger Deep Pressure and Proprioceptive Technique (DPPT) and Oral Tactile Technique (OTT)

Challenges in the these areas are common in children with various diagnoses including Sensory Processing Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Developmental Delays, Cerebral Palsy, Global Apraxia, and Down Syndrome. They also occur in children with no formal diagnosis. Many children, even those who are very bright, are not able to reach their fullest potential if they have difficulties with sensory processing or motor development. Occupational therapy can help!

Click here to fill out a checklist to see if your child may benefit from occupational therapy.

Feeding therapy is conducted to address feeding disorders (sensory, behavioral and motor) including: Restricted food repertoire, food refusal, failure to advance to age-appropriate foods, gagging, choking, vomiting, dysphagia, and tongue thrust (reverse swallow).

Treatment Plans

• SOS (Sequential Oral Sensory) Approach to Feeding 

Creative Speech Solutions, LLC offers a variety of social group programs in Summit and Montclair, NJ. Groups are designed for children ages 3-21 who need to improve their social communication (e.g., play skills, conversation skills, body language, perspective taking, problem solving, emotional regulation, and flexible thinking) and professional skills (e.g., interview skills, resume writing, social etiquette for college/vocational school/workplace). Each group provides opportunities to develop and practice more age-appropriate social skills in a safe, small group environment. Populations that are served include, but are not limited to: individuals with language disorders, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, autism, pervasive developmental disorder, social anxiety, and pragmatic language disorder. Groups are run by a certified speech-language pathologist and incorporate therapeutic programs such as Social Thinking® and The Zones of Regulation.® All groups follow a plan that is individualized for the needs of the participants. Parents who are interested should call to schedule a free 15-minute screening to determine his/her child’s readiness for a group and the most appropriate placement.  Groups are formed throughout the year and based on client availability and whether there is an appropriate placement for each child. 

*NOT eligible for reimbursement through any insurance carrier.

*For more information on our Social Skills Groups (in Summit), click the link for the registration form below.

• Winter 2024 Social Language Groups – REGISTRATION FORM

Camp PAL is a summer camp for children with learning differences. Camp PAL is based on the philosophy that all children deserve a traditional summertime experience. Camp PAL offers the perfect mix of summertime camp fun and therapeutic intervention. At Camp PAL children participate in innovative, creative and fun therapeutic groups run by the highly-talented and knowledgeable team of therapists at Creative Speech Solutions, LLC.  Groups are small and carefully constructed to both challenge and nurture the children, while promoting friendships, self confidence and a strong sense of community.

*See LINKS below for our camp brochure, registration forms, video, and slideshow.

*LINKS

• 2024 Camp BROCHURE
• 2024 Camp FLYER
• 2024 Camp ONLINE REGISTRATION FORM
• What is Camp PAL? VIDEO
• Space Exploration Theme VIDEO
• Wipeout Song SLIDESHOW

PLEASE NOTE – NOT RUNNING IN SUMMER 2024

Summer Programs (for kids and adults with learning differences).
All groups run for 6 weeks from July to August and take place in our office located at 198 Bellevue Avenue in Upper Montclair, NJ. Each 60-minute group is held once weekly and run by a certified speech-language pathologist. Formulation of each group is based on client availability and whether there is an appropriate placement for each child. 

The following group programs may be offered each summer dependent on enrollment:

Chat and Play is a great option for those parents who do not have the time to commit to a full summer camp program but still want their child to engage in social peer interaction in a therapeutic environment. Chat and Play is a weekly summer group for children with learning differences (age 3-12). The mission of the group is to improve social thinking, following directions, conversational and play skills, non-verbal communication, emotional regulation, and problem-solving in a fun and exciting way.

Social Solutions is a weekly summer group for individuals with learning differences (age 13-21). The mission of the group is to improve perspective taking, non-verbal communication (e.g., interpreting and demonstrating body language), conversation skills, problem solving, emotional regulation, and flexible thinking. This group offers individuals a chance to interact with others and develop meaningful relationships.

Get Ready for Work is a weekly summer group for individuals with learning differences (age 16-21). The mission of the group is to improve interview skills, resume/email writing, and social etiquette for the workplace/college/vocational setting. This group offers individuals a chance to prepare for the next chapter of their lives after high school.

*LINKS

• Chat & Play FLYER
• Social Solutions FLYER
• Get Ready for Work FLYER
• Chat & Play/Social Solutions FORMS
• Get Ready for Work FORMS

Creative Speech Solutions is DOE certified and provides speech-language and occupational therapy services to multiple schools and districts in the area. Our knowledgeable and competent therapists work diligently to conduct comprehensive assessments and provide first-rate therapy to the students they serve. We closely follow New Jersey DOE regulations and represent the districts and schools we work for in a consistent and professional manner.

Creative Speech Solutions is different than most “agencies” out there in that we provide direct supervision and ongoing support for our therapists. The owner and director of the practice (Cynthia Marrapodi) is a speech pathologist and personally supervises our school-based therapists. Cynthia conducts weekly conference calls with each of them to confidentially review caseloads; helps plan for upcoming evaluations; and provides assistance regarding service provision, setting IEP goals, and counseling parents, that is consistent with district and school policies and DOE regulations. She also visits our school-based therapists on a regular basis to observe therapy sessions and provide specific feedback to ensure that they are providing the best and most appropriate therapy. In addition, Cynthia reads and provides input on all progress and evaluation reports prior to submission.

There are many benefits to utilizing a contract service like Creative Speech Solutions. In addition to Cynthia managing her own therapists, she often act as an outside consultant to the directors who don’t necessarily have a speech pathologist supervisor to confer with. She has confidentially advised them on results of testing and about parent-district disagreements over service delivery issues. Additionally, CSS therapists are not subject to union rules and regulations regarding preparation, lunch and evaluation times. As a result, we have flexibility with scheduling and are often able to service more children in a school day than a district employee would be able to. Lastly, Cynthia has therapists who can advise, train and consult with school teams concerning specialized issues such as Social Thinking, Zones of Regulation, motor speech disorders (apraxia), Sensory Integration, auditory processing etc.

Meetings can be scheduled with our office in order to provide a more in-depth understanding of the services the practice can provide and to discuss specific school needs. We have a great deal of experience working in both public and private schools and understand the importance of addressing students’ specific needs so they reach their maximum potential academically and socially. Feel free to contact our office for a meeting.

Creative Speech Solutions offers music therapy (provided by Jammin’ Jenn) as part of our summer Camp PAL program.

Music therapy is recognized as an established health profession conducted by a certified Music Therapist with her Masters in Music Therapy. It uses musical activities to enhance social and language skills of children with special needs. Music therapy is a powerful, non-threatening tool to build upon a child’s innate strengths, while gently guiding the child to an enjoyable and productive experience. Music therapy is especially beneficial to children who have deficits in communication and/or behavioral issues. It nourishes the quality of a child’s life by providing a unique opportunity to embark upon a stimulating and creative musical journey. Throughout that journey, the child learns new social tools, improved language use and function and explores more rewarding interpersonal relationships. In addition, musical instruments are introduced and through a hierarchical system taught to create a fun and musical environment. Small groups may be established with functionally similar children.

If you are looking for individual group music therapy, please click here to visit the website. We have been working with Jenn for over 10 years and highly refer her!