Services

        Bird Kern Dalmia offers a large and varied selection of services that meet the needs of the whole child and the family. We offer Speech/Language/Social therapy, and Occupational Therapy. Please look at each area to understand the breadth of our therapy more fully.
        Bird Kern Dalmia assists all levels of delay in Speech/Language/Social skills and Occupational Therapy related skills. All clinicians have a minimum of a Master’s Degree and most have many years of experience. All clinicians continue attending professional development classes within the clinic and outside of the clinic. Our clients remain our focus in training and delivery of services.

        Our program for children with low verbal skills and those which require AAC approaches has developed at Bird Kern Dalmia since 1982. Bird Kern Dalmia developed and presented their approaches to audiences on National level the need for AAC and the need to respect a person’s right to communicate. The AAC belongs to the individual and is primarily their communication device which opens the world to them. We were part of early development of the digital and voiced devices. Our therapists are trained internally and attend classes to increase skills. Bird Kern Dalmia have always been on the cutting edge of the use of AAC. We do not compromise in designing the AAC program to benefit the individual. We are dedicated to designing for the individual not for the AAC device. Clients are always encouraged to use their verbal skills and AAC. These skills benefit from each other and must be taught together. The use of AAC is primarily a client’s voice and a way to teach cognitive skills without waiting for their verbal skills or behavioral skills to advance. Early teaching of AAC or low verbal skills are functional to get the individual to buy into the “reason for doing all of the work”. The design of AAC is very individualized and time is spent with the family/caregiver to assure a functional system that will teach the individual the “reason” for working to learn a new system. This process of BKD allows decreases behavior issues through language / communication skills. Clients who are low verbal may involve: selective mutism, apraxia, cognitive issues, premature birth, medical issues, oral motor compromises, other considerations. Therapy involves ongoing assessment to determine the underlying issues causing a delay in verbal skills. We do not believe one type of approach for all students is ever appropriate.

        Articulation errors are assessed, a therapy approach is developed and discussed with parent/caregiver. Other areas of concern may be discovered during the oral-motor evaluation, such as apraxia, oral-motor planning, oral-motor movement delays, phonetic processing skills, structural formations, and hearing ability which affects articulation. Therapy may involve auditory bombardment, articulator placement training, and the use of PROMPT strategies.

        Autism Spectrum Disorder is a complex diagnosis that requires well-trained therapists to meet the individual needs and Bird Kern Dalmia is devoted to meeting those needs. The speech pathologists who established BKD in the 1980’s were part of the earliest Autism programs and have continued to research and interact with other specialists to devise the best program possible for those diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Bird Kern Dalmia believe that each client must be treated as an individual and not a person with a diagnosis. ASD incorporates many possibilities for appropriate treatment. No one approach is appropriate for every client. BKD believes that teaching a flexibility within the individual is essential and do not teach repetitive language skills that may not be attached to functional language skills. In our approach the individual learns to understand the reason for language and the power that language allows the individual. The oral-motor issues and cognitive issues are always considered in the development of a plan. Clients on this spectrum may also require social skill training and an understanding of the environments outside of themselves. Through teaching of language skills, behavior also changes positively. The Occupational Therapy may also be necessary to treat the individual’s physical / emotional/ cognitive needs and are O.T. is called on to treat as an important part of the team.

        The Feeding Program at Bird Kern Dalmia is individualized because the issue of feeding is based on the reason for the feeding issue presented to the therapist. The Speech/Language Therapist and the Occupational Therapist may be involved in the feeding program depending on the determined reason for the feeding issues. Bird Kern Dalmia believe the Feeding Program needs to be positive, desensitizing which increases the variety of foods and the positive feelings during the feeding process. Data is closely taken to determine direction of therapy but not to determine length of time at each step. We do not believe in a behavioral approach to feeding which deletes the needs of the individual. Bird Kern Dalmia involves the family, schools, caregivers and desire a natural feeding environment that will easily move throughout all environments. We often find grandparents or other people in the individuals’ environment can add much to the feeding environment. The approach must include a social setting with a positive approach to the feeding. Bird Kern Dalmia are always in contact with the medical community treating the individual.

        Bird Kern Dalmia believe in assisting our clients in their IEP and Observations of outside environments. Our therapists often review IEP’s and give suggestions, assist in developing goals, assessments, and observing the client’s variety of environments. We believe this assists the client/ family/ caregiver to make better decisions for the future. We always endeavor to work in a cooperative manner with all outside agencies to advance the needs of the individual, however, our primary goal to assist the individual to meet their needs in multiple environments.

        Our Language Program assists individuals from 6 months through adults. Goals are developed from assessments, observation, input from others, and natural assessment strategies. We treat language delays which occur in Cluttering, Stuttering (disfluency), auditory processing, language processing, Issues associated with ADHD, listening skills, vocabulary development, morphology, grammar, sentence length and complexity. BKD works with asking and answering questions, building conversational skills, Executive Function skills, congenital and acquired Language Skills. Our methods vary according to the individual’s needs. If one method is not making improvement, then a different approach might be more appropriate. Teaching flexibility within the client’s learning skills and therapist’s approaches is essential to success. We do not teach in repetitive / non-flexible approaches. We are driven by goals and data, but we will change the approach as the client’s needs change. One strength of BKD is the varied types of approaches that all clinicians use when change is necessary. No one approach is considered ultimate for every student.

        Bird Kern Dalmia’s Occupational Therapy program assists clients with a wide range of needs. Therapists develop appropriate goals to meet the Occupational Therapy needs as determined by a qualified and certified Occupational Therapist. Occupational Therapy is determined to improve the skills of the individual that improves the overall quality of life of the individual. The therapist delivers services with flexibility and follows the needs of the individual. Occupational Therapy involves; gross/ fine motor skills, executive functioning, planning skills in a three-dimensional world, functional skills which allow independence and greater access to the world around them, handwriting and feeding skills. A fully equipped gym is available. Equipment is added if an individual needs specialized devices that is determined by the O.T. There are times when a co-treat is beneficial for speech/language and occupational therapy. This is evident in our feeding program, our movement-based therapies, executive functioning and our AAC strategies for both settings.

        Selective Mutism: is a relatively new communication disorder for young children in school.
Bird Kern Dalmia were one of the first clinics to develop a successful intervention for those
children suffering from Selective Mutism. These children can communicate environments
where they may feel a sense of safety. This may be home, daycare, or at grandma’s house but
in many other environments they do not speak at all. Many children will go the entire day in
school without saying one word. They often are socially isolated and do not play during recess.
They usually appear to understand what is being said to them but do not speak.
Bird Kern Dalmia recognized early on the need to observe in the classroom and at home to
determine what may help the child generalize their verbal language skills. Conferencing with
the teacher and giving ideas to help in the classroom may improve the situation much faster.
Creating a safe space for the child to communicate in clinic is also critical.

        Social skills is an integral part of the child’s overall learning and development. Bird Kern Dalmia customizes each child’s individual needs and goals and forms groups accordingly. Groups can be dyad(2 children) or multiple children up to 5. Bird kern dalmia has social groups for all ages between 3-18 years

        We offer 2 trial sessions with the group the therapist picks for the child and if it doesn’t seem to be a fit, the therapist will change the group. All groups are theme based to focus on different social skills like conversation, following a group plan, being flexible, personal space, perspective taking, being a good sport, negotiating, compromising, empathy, using a growth mindset, conflict resolution, being a good team member, problem solving, size of reaction, understanding social cues, and many more. Children learn these skills through active role playing, social stories, team projects, books, video modeling and group discussions. Board games and cooperative team games are heavily used during the groups. The therapist either screens individual child before putting them in social groups or of the child has an existing IEP/evaluation, it is used to help place the child in an appropriate group.

        Bird Kern Dalmia has therapists who have undergone special training in Disfluency Approaches. Disfluency issues may be caused by motor issues or linguistic issues and determining cause is done through assessment and observation.
        Disfluency is partially defined as verbal repetitions, elongations, and blocks. Direction of therapy changes based on type of disfluency and the probable cause of disfluency. The flow of speech is significantly disrupted. This can leave the individual knowing what they want to say but cannot “get it out”. This can also create anxiety and or depression.
        Although the cause of stuttering (disfluency) is not completely understood, it appears to be a neurologically based speech disability. It may be seen within families and among generations which may point to a genetic component as well.