Speech Therapy & Reading Therapy for Children of All Ages
A Speech Pathology and Science of Reading Practice
Speech Therapy for Children in Metro Detroit
Online speech therapy is available to clients anywhere in Michigan.
Sunflower Speech & Reading, LLC, offers speech therapy, language therapy, and/or reading therapy - any or all areas to fit your child’s needs. We specialize in treating children with Speech & Language Impairments, Dyslexia, and other Reading Difficulties.
Welcome to Sunflower Speech & Reading LLC, where we provide Evidence-Based Speech Therapy & Reading Therapy for Children of All Ages.
Every human has the right to communicate and read to the best of their ability…let’s make it happen!
With over 12 years of experience as a Speech Therapist, my goal in creating Sunflower Speech & Reading, LLC is to support families when navigating their child’s strengths and weaknesses in the areas of speech, language & literacy. Every single human is capable of communicating and reading; it is up to their village to give them the tools, strategies and instruction to make it happen! I look forward to being a part of your village, in whatever capacity you prefer, from a single consultation, to one-on-one therapy.
Personalized Speech Therapy & Reading Therapy Using the Brain Friendly Reading (BFR) Framework
Evaluations
Understanding your child’s strengths and weaknesses in the areas of speech, language and reading.
If an evaluation is warranted, I will complete an individualized assessment using standardized testing, family & teacher input as appropriate, and informal assessment. I will make the process as smooth as possible, answering your questions along the way.
Therapy
Speech therapy and reading therapy sessions consist of structured and unstructured activities that will engage your child, creating an optimal learning environment. Language therapy sessions will incorporate engaging activities that will help your child increase his/her communication skills. Sunflower Speech & Reading, LLC is unique in that all skills (speech, language & reading) can be incorporated into a single session if that is appropriate for your child.
All sessions will include carefully planned activities to achieve your child’s goals efficiently and effectively. When appropriate, home programming may be implemented to extend practice of a developing skill at home, using games and provided materials. Games and activities are used to target speech goals as well as reading goals.
Why Brain Friendly Reading Program?
I’ve chosen to utilize the Brain Friendly Reading (BFR) program because it targets decoding skills (sounding out words), as well as vocabulary (to help reading comprehension). Brain Friendly Reading is based on the Orton-Gillingham Curriculum, which is developed to teach children with dyslexia and other struggling readers, how to read. It does this by providing direct reading instruction with a variety of instructional strategies and games for engaging children in repeated practice of foundational reading skills, training their brain to recognize spelling patterns fluently and automatically. While practicing these spelling patterns, new vocabulary words are introduced and practiced throughout the activities.
BFR introduces specific spelling patterns in a cumulative manner, which allows direct instruction on that pattern, followed by repeated practice for your child’s brain to recognize and then practice these spelling patterns until they become fluent. The next lesson builds on the previously taught lesson, and incorporates those skills for continuing practice. The pace of the program indicates that we move ‘as fast as we can, and as slow as we need to.’
Meet Your Speech Therapist
Katie Kaufmann, M.A., CCC-SLP
Owner, ASHA Certified Speech Therapist, & Brain-Friendly Reading and Dyslexia Specialist
Hello! My name is Katie. I’ve been working as a Speech Therapist in a variety of settings for 12 years. Working with children is my absolute favorite, and seeing them light up when progress is made is why I am in the field of education and love doing speech therapy!
Most recently, I’ve worked in the same school in Harper Woods, MI, for 6 years. I’ve seen the Speech & Language Impaired students on my caseload struggle with the many areas of reading, including decoding and comprehension, year after year. It is heartbreaking to see these students struggle with their classes because of their difficulty with reading, language and/or speech.
Reading and communication go hand in hand, and are essential for a child’s success. After feeling helpless in supporting some of my students in their ability to learn to read, I decided to obtain a certification as a Reading & Dyslexia Specialist. Moving forward, I am able to help clients with all skills in these areas (Speech, Language, Reading) based on the clients’ needs and family’s preferences.
I look forward to getting to know you and your child, and meeting your child at whatever skill level he/she is at, then building on those skills to bring them to their full potential as an effective communicator and a strong reader.
The Process For Getting Started with Sunflower Speech & Reading, LLC
Sunflower Speech & Reading, LLC offers Speech Therapy and Reading Therapy in our Harper Woods clinic and online.
Office located at Danbury Ln & Harper Ave. in Harper Woods, MI
(Inside the BakerHopp Building)
Step 1
Free 10-15 minute consult via phone, zoom or in-person.
Step 2
If warranted, comprehensive formal evaluation or informal assessment, personalized to your child’s needs.
Step 3
Let’s dive in! Therapy sessions planned and catered to your child’s individual strengths and weaknesses. At Sunflower Speech & Reading, LLC, we use motivating games, books, songs, crafts and engaging activities to keep things fun!
Step 4
Set up a home program that fits your family’s preferences in order to provide carryover and practice of the skills we learn in therapy. A strong home program will results in more growth and faster progress in targeted skills!
Insurance & Billing
At this time, Sunflower Speech & Reading LLC accepts private pay only. Payment is due at the time of service. Sunflower Speech & Reading LLC accepts Cash, checks, Venmo or Paypal.
The reason Sunflower Speech & Reading, LLC doesn’t accept insurance is because we like to be able to address your child’s speech therapy and reading goals without the insurance company telling me how often or for how long I can provide therapy to your child.