Pediatric Speech-Language Pathology · Bloomington-Normal, IL
Pediatric speech therapy for communication, feeding, and participation.
The Therapy Collaborative (TTC) provides pediatric speech-language therapy for infants, children, teens, and young adults who need support with communication, speech sounds, language, apraxia, AAC, social communication, cognitive-communication, feeding, and swallowing. Communication is more than saying words clearly. It affects how children connect, learn, ask for help, participate at school, build relationships, and share who they are. Our goal is to help each child communicate and participate more confidently in daily life.
OT + SLP
Coordinated care under one roof
Lifespan
Infants through young adults
AAC
Complex communication needs supported
Feeding
Oral-motor and swallowing included
Serving Bloomington, Normal, and surrounding Central Illinois communities —
Including patients traveling from the greater midwest for specialty care.
How pediatric speech (SLP) therapy can help
WHAT WE ADDRESS
Pediatric speech-language therapy at TTC supports children across a wide range of communication, feeding, and functional participation needs.
Speech sounds
Support for children who have difficulty producing sounds clearly or being understood by family, teachers, peers, or unfamiliar listeners.
Language development
Support for understanding language, using words and sentences, following directions, answering questions, telling stories, and expressing ideas.
Childhood apraxia of speech
Support for children who have difficulty planning and sequencing the movements needed for clear speech.
AAC and complex communication
Support for children who use or may benefit from AAC, including devices, visual supports, or multimodal communication. Our OT and SLP team collaborates around posture, positioning, and motor access when needed.
Social communication
Support for functional communication, conversation, perspective-taking, self-advocacy, and participation across home, school, and community settings.
Feeding and swallowing
Support for children whose speech-language therapy needs overlap with oral-motor skills, feeding, swallowing, or mealtime participation.
WHO WE SEE
Who we help
Pediatric OT may be appropriate for children and teens with:
Speech sound disorders
Communication changes after illness or injury
Oral-motor concerns
Cognitive-communication needs
AAC or complex communication needs
Don't see what you're looking for? View the full list of conditions we treat, or contact us to talk through your child's needs.
HOW WE WORK
Our approach
Therapy is designed around functional communication. We want children to be able to communicate across real settings, including home, school, therapy, play, sports, community activities, and relationships.
Communication that works in real life
Family-centered planning
Families are included in goal-setting and home carryover. We help caregivers understand what skills we are building and how to support communication outside the clinic.
No two children communicate the same way. Therapy may focus on speech clarity, language, AAC, social communication, feeding, swallowing, or a combination of needs.
Individualized Therapy
Some children need support across communication, sensory processing, regulation, motor planning, feeding, and participation. When appropriate, TTC’s OT and SLP team collaborates around shared goals.
Collaboration across OT and SLP
Communication is more than saying words clearly. It affects how children connect, learn, ask for help, participate at school, build relationships, and share who they are.
Our goal is to help each child communicate and participate more confidently in daily life — whether they are just beginning their therapy journey or need a more advanced model to move forward.
Bloomington-Normal, IL · Serving Central Illinois and regional patients traveling for specialty care
THE PROCESS
What to expect
Evaluation
The evaluation may look at speech sounds, language, communication, play, social interaction, oral-motor skills, feeding, swallowing, AAC needs, and functional participation.
Therapy plan
Your therapist will recommend a plan based on your child’s needs, goals, and priorities — including weekly sessions, home practice, caregiver coaching, school collaboration, or more intensive support.
Treatment sessions
Sessions may include play-based therapy, structured practice, AAC support, speech motor work, language activities, feeding support, parent coaching, and functional communication practice.
Progress review
Progress is reviewed over time so therapy can adjust as your child grows, develops, and reaches new goals.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions
When should I consider speech therapy for my child?
Speech therapy may be helpful if your child is difficult to understand, uses fewer words than expected, has trouble following directions, struggles to express ideas, needs AAC, has feeding or swallowing concerns, or has difficulty communicating in daily life. If you’re not sure whether SLP is the right fit, we’re happy to talk it through — give us a call and we can help you find the right starting point.
Do you work with children who use AAC?
Yes. TTC can support children with complex communication needs and help families explore strategies that support communication across daily routines.
Can speech therapy help with feeding?
Yes. Speech-language pathologists can support feeding and swallowing needs when oral-motor, sensory, safety, or swallowing concerns affect mealtimes.
Can SLP help if my child has already tried therapy?
Yes. Many families come to TTC when progress has been slower than expected or when a child needs a deeper, more individualized therapy model to move forward.
Start with a pediatric SLP evaluation.
Communication challenges affect everything. When a child struggles to express themselves, ask for help, or be understood, it touches every part of their day. TTC is here to help you figure out the next right step — whether that's a full evaluation or just a conversation.