Services Provided
Speech and Language Therapy
Communication challenges affect an individual's ability to produce, formulate, comprehend and apply language within social and functional situations. The ability to meaningfully engage with others is an imperative skill, and a strong predictor for lifelong happiness and success.
In order to help individuals express themselves optimally and effectively across contexts, Circles of Communication offers neurodiversity affirming approaches to the evaluation and treatment of:
Autism
Natural Language Acquisition
Receptive/Expressive Language Disorders
Auditory Processing Disorders
Articulation/Phonological Disorders
Apraxia of Speech
Pragmatic Language
Executive Functioning
Augmentative/Alternative Communication
Feeding Issues
Stuttering
Individualized integrative treatment plans span cognitive, linguistic, sensory, motor, social, and emotional domains to help clients communicate effectively, achieve developmental milestones, increase functional capacities, meaningfully engage in their environments, and meet personal goals. Sessions focus on the brain-body connection, recognize and support the foundational need for emotional regulation, educate about the validity of all communication styles, and nurture individual differences.
New Jersey Department of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) funding accepted!
Yoga for All Abilities
Given the opportunity, children and adults of all abilities can learn to develop greater body awareness, strength, physical and mental flexibility, confidence, self-regulation, and self-expression through yoga practice.
The benefits of yoga are well documented. The practice inherently targets visual-spatial, gross motor, language, social-emotional, and executive function skills. In particular, yoga provides meaningful opportunities to strengthen the understanding and execution of directions containing spatial concepts. Spatial concepts include a range of commonly used, concrete prepositions like on, in, above, below, around and next to. Spatial concepts also refer to more abstract prepositions like near, far, and away. The ability to understand and apply spatial information is imperative for success in a variety of functional and recreational situations.
Each session is designed to accommodate a variety of learning styles through engaging, joyful, and experience based activities including individual and partner poses, interactive games, storytelling, singing, drawing, guided meditation, and breathing techniques.
DIR/Floortime Therapy & Consultation
Floortime therapy is a key component of the DIR model, developed by Dr. Stanley Greenspan and Dr. Serena Wieder. Using this approach, caregivers are trained to consider a child’s Developmental capacities and Individualized sensory profile in addition to establishing and maintaining a positive, trusting Relationship to strengthen functional life capacities, develop meaningful connections, and promote lifelong learning.
During in-person or remote (i.e. video call) coaching sessions, caregivers are provided with skills and strategies to enhance connection, communication, confidence, and learning through play in a safe, supportive environment. Sessions focus on individual strengths and participants are guided to view neurological differences like autism as a form of human diversity. In this way, families and caretakers are guided to understand, accept, and support their children.
Holistic Circus Therapy
Circus therapy playfully combines yoga philosophy, circus arts, and imperative life skills. It is engaging and appropriate for all ages and abilities!
Circus arts, like hula hooping, juggling, plate spinning, and basic acrobatics, provide a unique outlet for play across the lifespan. They are pleasurable, fascinating, and challenging yet achievable when taught mindfully and incrementally. These skills inherently target a multitude of visual-spatial, gross motor, language, social-emotional, and executive function skills, allowing students to engage in joyful activities while working to improve general well-being.
All Circus Therapy sessions are infused with sprinklings of yogi wisdom, providing participants with tools and experiences to increase their confidence, persistence, and awareness of the mind-body connection, all while having a tremendous amount of fun!
Music Appreciation
Music education and exploration is joyful, engaging, accessible, and extremely beneficial. A literature review conducted by the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) concluded that music is universally appealing and helps to promote social, emotional, and cognitive skills across many different disability categories. Music is widely accepted as an evidence-based therapy that successfully reduces stress, enhances memory and cognition, improves communication, strengthens sensory-processing, and builds confidence.
All music appreciation sessions incorporate movement and are designed to playfully encourage participants to explore interests and develop new skills by exploring instruments and recorded music.
Consultations and Tutoring
We have a passion for helping individuals of all abilities be the best versions of themselves. Individualized in-home or remote (i.e. video call) consultations and tutoring sessions will help you to establish goals for your child and family to support wellness, daily living skills, leisure skills, and/or communication skills. We will customize a program based on your personal goals which will capitalize on your child's strengths and interests and may include: creation of activity and/or movement-based schedules, personalized video modeling clips, assisting your child to move towards increased independence with household management and chores, and support to improve consistency across educational and therapeutic settings.
We can also assist families navigate therapeutic and educational options, understand Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and Individual Service Plans (ISPs), and advocate for neurodiversity aligned supports at schools or day programs.
Alternative Education Programs
Alternative education programs are available for school-age children and young adults whose needs are not being met in typical education environments. Programs designed by licensed educators and therapists use a compassionate, integrative, developmental and person-centered approach that accounts for and capitalizes on individual differences. There is a strong focus on social-emotional learning, project-based learning, daily living skills, confidence, communication, and independence. Opportunities to connect with nature, foster peer relationships, learn in community settings, explore passions and interests, and participate fully in the education process are emphasized.
Our alternative education learning cooperative currently meets on Wednesdays from 11:00am to 2:00pm.