A Gift of Speech is dedicated to helping children and families communicate. We have been supporting children with their communication needs since 2008. As it takes more than one person to communicate, we work with families, schools, and therapists through education, consultation, evaluation, and direct therapy. We truly understand the gift of communication and we look forward to sharing our gifts with you.
We offer:
- Individual Therapy in our home office
- Evaluations
Speech and Language Assessments (specializing in CAS and complex communication needs)
AAC – Augmentative and Alternative Communication Assessments and program design - Consultative Services to therapists, families, and schools.
- Training and Educational Programs for parents, therapists, schools, and clinics.
- Speech therapy activities and ideas.
Welcome I am Shannon Archer the lead therapist and creator of A Gift of Speech.
This is a small part of the journey that lead me to A Gift of Speech.
I graduated
from the University of Colorado in Boulder with an undergraduate degree in government. I then went on to pursue my goals to support families. I studied Family Studies and child development at the University of New Hampshire, where I received an MS in Family Studies. Upon graduation, I worked in family support and parent education programs.
I was a military spouse for 13 years, where I lived and worked to support families all across the United States (typically near a coast).
As my children entered school and I returned home to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area (Frisco, Texas), I decided to pursue my career goals of helping children and families with communication issues.
I graduated with a Master’s of Science in Communication Disorders from the University of Texas, Dallas and started my career as a speech-language pathologist. I have gained knowledge and increased passion as I have worked within the school system and private practice. My family and A Gift of Speech moved to San Diego (South Bay area) in 2015.
Shown in the picture to the right are me and an amazing child that inspires me to build my gifts and to share them! She is an orphan from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico whom I have been able to get to know over the last 8 years. She may not communicate verbally, but she shares her love and joy through smiles and laughter! You should listen to us sing together… Actually probably not, because neither one of us can carry a tune! We amy not be able to sing well, but we share the gift of communication.
I would like to share some of the training’s that I have attended and my therapeutic approaches that I enlist to support my clients/students:
Childhood Apraxia of Speech
- CASANA Intensive Training Institute – Advanced Training and Expertise in Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS)
- CASANA National Conventions
- PROMPT Training
- TXSHA workshops and focused training on Apraxia.
- District expert and trainer for CAS
- Therapeutic approach:
- Principles of Motor Learning
- Multi-sensory cueing
- Fun and Functional
- Family involvement
Articulation
- Motor planning principles in treating articulation.
- A combination of drill and distributive practice to effectively treat single sound to multiple sound disorders.
- Fun and interactive therapy to promote generalization of skills. We use games, books, and everyday items to make speech fun and functional
Augmentative and Alternative Communication and Assistive Technology
- District Assistive Technology Specialist and AAC Specialist
- CSUN Assistive Technology Certification Course & CSUN International Assistive Technology Conference Presenter
- SVOPower Expert Trainer
- District and state AAC Trainer – CSUN Presenter
- Participation in multiple Texas Augmentative Communication Training/Clusters.
- Extensive training with various dynamic display devices. Training and implementation of Proloquo2Go, TouchChat, Lamp, CoughDrop, and more. Training with DynaVox, PRC, Tobii and other systems.
- Implementation and use of an augmentative device in the therapeutic process.
- PECS Training
Autism, Down Syndrome, and Chromosomal Disorders
- Extensive training and understanding of the unique needs of chromosomal and developmental disabilities.
- Pragmatic and social skills training using the Social Thinking Curriculum to guide pragmatic and social communication intervention
Behavior Support
- ABA Coursework and training.
- Completed the supervised training requirements and applied behavior analysis coursework through the University of North Texas Behavior Analysis Program
- Training in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and Verbal Behavior (VB) through instruction courses by the Carbone Clinic and the Central Texas Autism Center. Application of these techniques with students and clients.
Early Intervention
- Early Intervention for Speech/Language Delays Extensive training in designing early intervention programs to meet the specific needs of your child with speech and language delays.
Evaluation
- Evaluation for Speech and Language Disorders: Full range of evaluation and diagnostic tools.
- AAC and AT Evaluation and Implementation Training
- Formal training in the use of formalized evaluation tools
- Informal evaluation tools: Language Curriculum Referenced Measure, VB-MAPP, ABBLS-R, and more for individuals that may not be able to demonstrate their skills with standardized tools.
Nov-Verbal and Minimally Verbal Intervention
- Extensive training with various forms of communication strategies for promoting communication:
- Design and implementation of communication strategies from picture exchange to dynamic display devices.
- Advanced training in ABA and VB methods
- PECS – Picture Exchange
Phonological Disorders
- Training using multi-modalities, minimal pairs, drill vs. distributive practice to promote learning and production of the correct phonological and articulation systems.
Pragmatic/Social Language Disorders
- Training in Social Thinking Curriculum. We use this to guide our intervention for pragmatic language.
Receptive/Expressive Language Disorders
- Interactive and focused therapy to improve receptive and expressive communication using: literature, games, and activities.
- Fun and functional therapy to develop improved communication skills from early intervention thru school aged.