our services

---

At Happy Whale Therapy, we specialize exclusively in speech therapy for children ages 2–6. Our one-on-one sessions are tailored to support early communication development and address speech and language challenges during these critical years. With 20 years of experience in the field, our speech-language pathologist brings valuable expertise and insight to help your child reach their full potential.

An evaluation is a thorough assessment designed to understand your child's communication abilities. During this evaluation, a licensed speech-language pathologist (SLP) will work closely with your child to assess:

• Speech clarity: How easily your child’s speech can be understood.
   
• Language skills: How well your child understands and uses words, sentences, and grammar.
   
• Social communication: How well your child interacts with others, takes turns in conversation, and understands social cues.
   
• Voice: The pitch, volume, and quality of your child’s voice.
   
• Fluency: Whether your child experiences difficulties like stuttering.
   

The evaluation also helps identify if your child has any specific speech or language disorders, such as speech delays, speech sound disorders, or language disorders, and it provides a detailed picture of their strengths and areas for improvement.

Speech therapy is a treatment designed to help children improve their communication skills. After an evaluation, if speech therapy is recommended, our speech-language pathologists will create a personalized treatment plan based on your child’s needs. Therapy may include:

• Speech sound therapy: Helping children pronounce words more clearly and accurately.
   
• Language development: Teaching your child how to better understand and use language, whether it's following directions, asking questions, or forming complete sentences.
   
• Social communication skills: Improving your child’s ability to engage in conversations, make eye contact, and understand social rules.
   
• Fluency therapy: Supporting children who stutter by helping them speak more fluently and confidently.

• Oral-motor therapy: Addressing difficulties with the muscles used for speech, eating, and swallowing. It focuses on improving the strength, coordination, and flexibility of the oral muscles (lips, tongue, jaw, and palate) to support better communication.

Relationship: We begin by building a strong, positive relationship with your child. Our goal is to create a welcoming and comfortable environment where your child can explore, play, and become familiar with the therapy routine. We believe that a trusting relationship is key to helping your child feel excited and motivated about the process.

Strengths: To spark enthusiasm and success, we focus on your child’s strengths. By starting with activities and tasks that align with your child's interests and abilities, we ensure they feel confident and motivated to continue progressing. This positive momentum drives success as therapy progresses.

Skill Building: Once a solid foundation is established, we focus on addressing areas of need by gradually introducing more complex tasks. This structured approach fosters skill growth and encourages steady progress, allowing your child to expand their communication abilities over time.

Generalization: Our ultimate goal is to empower your child to apply the skills learned in therapy to real-life situations—at home, school, or in social settings. We achieve this by collaborating with parents and caregivers to reinforce these skills, ensuring they are practiced at home and extend to other environments. By nurturing effective communication across various settings, we set your child up for lasting success in the world around them.