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Skill Builders
Biography
Skill Builders is a private, speech-language and occupational therapy practice seeking to foster positive changes in the daily lives of children and adults. Our experienced, licensed therapists work with each family to tailor a specific and focused treatment program that meets the unique needs of each patient. The specialists draw from a broad range of intervention methods to provide a comprehensive therapy program set within a supportive environment. Since our founding more than 30 years ago, Skill Builders has been committed to our therapist’s ongoing education to ensure we apply the latest proven advances in research and treatment techniques.Skill Builders is a private, speech-language and occupational therapy practice seeking to foster positive changes in the daily lives of children and adults. Our experienced, licensed therapists work with each family to tailor a specific and focused treatment program that meets the unique needs of each patient. The specialists draw from a broad range of intervention methods to provide a comprehensive therapy program set within a supportive environment.
We have three full-service office locations providing both Speech-Language and Occupational Therapy. The Annandale office is conveniently located just inside the Beltway on Little River Turnpike. The McLean office is located in the McLean Professional Park on Chain Bridge Road. Our new Alexandria office is in North Old Town. Please see the Locations page for more specific directions.
If you are interested in tutoring or speech and/or language therapy, please call Cari Syron, at 703-941-7757, extension 101. If interested in occupational therapy, please call Este Sherwin at 703-750-2443, extension 110. Cari and Este work Monday through Thursday and will return your call within 2-3 business days.
Notes
AAC Skill Builders specializes in working with children with complex communication
needs who benefit from or require Augmentative/Alternative Communication (AAC). We offer full AAC evaluations (including funding packets for speech generating devices), consults for existing AAC users, and therapy focused on implementation and use of AAC. Therapy uses a child-directed/therapist-guided approach and focuses on language development and overall communicative competence. We collaborate with local schools, pediatricians, ABA providers, as well as other professionals. Our therapists are very committed to using best practice, the large evidence base surrounding AAC for children, and advanced clinical education for staff. We mentor graduate students and participate in clinical research opportunities.
Skill Builders is a LAMP (Language Acquisition through Motor Planning) Center of Excellence (one of 10 in the United States), certified by the Center for AAC and Autism. We have two LAMP Certified Professionals on staff and many therapists who have completed the LAMP training. In addition, several therapists have extensive advanced continuing education and training in the area of AAC. Skill Builders frequently conducts presentations, trainings and in-services locally and regionally to professional and parent groups, and guest lectures in undergraduate and graduate level classes. We host an AAC study group for DC area professionals throughout the year, as well as an AAC Parent Group specifically for parents of children who use AAC. These groups are free of charge and open to all in the DMV area.
For more information regarding our AAC services, please contact Amanda O’Connor at 703-941-7757 x316.
TUTORING
Skill Builders now offers Tutoring as part of our services. The Tutoring services are geared toward children having difficulty with grade level reading, writing and executive function skills. Activities and strategies are modified to meet the individual needs of each child in order to create a positive and fun learning experience.
Office, in home, and private school sessions available.
Specialties
Support in the areas of:
Letter/Sound identification
Building sight word vocabulary
Increasing reading fluency
Comprehension
Sequencing
Writing process
Executive functioning
Organization/planning
Adaptive Experience
Extensive experience modifying learning techniques for children with disabilities:
Intellectual disabilities
Autism
Emotional disabilities
Learning disabilities
ADD/ADHD
Vision and hearing impairment
Physical disabilities
GROUP
Skill Builders offers social groups for children of all ages with varying levels of skills and needs. These are offered year-round, with additional options available during the summer.
Our social groups are run by a speech-language pathologist and aim to improve social language and executive functioning skills. In these groups, children learn to initiate a conversation and respond to others, use their “whole body listening,” gain understanding of “expected” and “unexpected” behaviors, attend to a task and use joint attention, and interact with peers. They are also encouraged and guided on improving play skills, compromising, being flexible, and planning and executing tasks with others.
Our groups utilize many different treatment programs, in which our therapists have been trained. These include Social Thinking, Unstuck and On Target, and the Zones of Regulation. Our therapists have years of experience from which to draw and implement their own techniques to meet each child at their particular level. Groups are tailored to the individual needs and skills of the group participants, who are matched based on their abilities. This process begins with a phone call with our group coordinator, followed by a complimentary 30-minute meet-and-greet with the child and parent.
If you are interested or have any questions, please contact Melissa Plummer by phone 703-941-7757 x104 or by email melissa@skillbuildersllc.com.
FEEDING CONSULTATIONS, ASSESSMENTS AND TREATMENT
Skill Builders is proud to offer a variety of feeding-related services. Our feeding therapists have diverse backgrounds in several different feeding interventions, and have pursued additional trainings in order to provide the most up-to-date and individualized treatment plan possible. Our feeding services include:
Infant Feeding Difficulties (tongue and lip tie, transitioning from breast to bottle, introducing solid foods)
Picky Eating/Behavioral Feeding Difficulties
Tongue and Lip Tie Consultations
Sensory Feeding Disorders
Failure to Thrive
Self-Feeding Skills
Motor-Based Feeding Difficulties/Talk Tools/Oral Myofunctional Therapy
Transitioning from bottle to cup
ORAL MYOFUNCTIONAL THERAPY
Skill Builders is now offering a full range of Oral MyoFunctional Therapy (OMT) options. The goals of OMT include OroFacial muscle re-education, nasal breathing, safe open airway, closed mouth resting posture, and functional lip, tongue, and cheek resting postures and movements to stimulate and maintain proper dental occlusion and hard palate/jaw shape. Our OMT services include:
Infant MyoFunctional Therapy for children 9-36 months
Pre- and Post-Tongue and Lip Tie Consultations and Therapy.
Elimination of Poor Oral Habits
Mini-MYO programs for children 2-7 years
Developing functional chewing, feeding and swallowing patterns
Traditional MyoFunctional Therapy for individuals 7 and older
Phase 1: Breakdown poor oral habits and muscle memory
Phase 2: Generalization & Maintenance
Phase 3: Reinforcing New Habits
FLOORTIME
Skill Builders is also an accredited provider of DIRFloortime® through the International Council on Development and Learning (ICDL). DIRFloortime (also known as Floortime) is an intervention that is used to promote an individual’s development through a respectful, playful, joyful, and engaging process. It uses the power of relationships and human connections to promote the development of the capacities for self-regulation, engagement, communication, shared social problem solving, and creative, organized, and reflective thinking and reasoning. It is based on the DIR® model that was developed by Dr. Stanley Greenspan and his colleagues. It is used around the world by teachers, occupational therapists, speech therapists, mental health professionals, parents, and many others that care for individuals with developmental challenges or other related needs. It is an evidence-based approach to promoting human development that is used with children, young adults, and even adults…especially those on the autism spectrum.
All of our therapists are trained in the DIR model and implement it on a daily basis. In addition, several of our therapists have advanced education in this area and attend local and international courses frequently. Skill Builders conducts presentations, trainings, individual parent coaching, parent groups, and playgroups with a focus on this model. For more information on DIRFloortime® at Skill Builders, please email Jessica Schmidt at jessica@skillbuildersllc.com.
TRAININGS/WORKSHOPS
Skill Builders therapists are available for in person and online group meetings, consultations and/or trainings regarding various topics. Our therapists frequently present locally and regionally on various topics, provide family and team trainings / in-services, and conduct Q & A sessions. If you are interested in an in-person or online meeting / training, please contact Cari Syron at 703-941-7757 x101 or cari@skillbuildersllc.com, and let us know what topic you are interested in!
If you are interested or have any questions, please contact Cari Syron by phone
703-941-7757 x101 or by email cari@skillbuildersllc.com.
