Integrated Center for Child Development

Parents, teachers and other caregivers are increasingly aware of children presenting with ADHD, Asperger’s Disorder, learning disabilities and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Not long ago, children with such conditions were too often ignored or dismissed as being “lazy”, “odd”, or “not intelligent.” As a result, many adolescents, young adults and older adults live with undiagnosed challenges in attention, learning, or social comprehension. Even though there has been a rapid growth and development of services provided to children with these conditions, supports and services to adolescents and adults transitioning to the world of work or colleges has not paralleled this growth. The Adult Assessment Program (AAP) at the ICCD is a direct response to the gaps in the service delivery system for young and older adults with learning, attention, and developmental disorders. The AAP serves three primary groups: Young adults with identified needs who are transitioning out of the public school special education system. College, graduate, and professional school students with learning needs. Adults who have struggled with attention, task management, learning or socialization, but who have never been formally assessed.

ICCD is pleased to present our sister organization, Boston Behavioral Learning Centers (BBLC). BBLC delivers the highest quality educational and clinical services for clients with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and other related disabilities using Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) instructional methodology and other evidence-based approaches. The goal is to help clients reach their fullest potential by improving their independence across all hallmarks of ASD including communication, social and behavioral domains. BBLC uses ABA to develop individualized programs and treatment plans that target cognitive, language, academic or school readiness, behavior management, play, and social skills. If you are interested in learning more about our services please visit our website at www.bostonblc.org

Common Speech Disorders Apraxia of Speech is a disorder of the sequencing of the motor movements for producing speech sounds. Articulation (Speech) Disorder is difficulty with the production of speech sounds. Articulation disorders are due to incorrect placement of the articulators (tongue, lips, velum) within the oral cavity. Oral Motor Disorder occurs when a child has difficulty controlling muscles of the articulators (lips, tongue, etc.). Therapy focuses on improving strength and functioning for the purposes of speech. Phonological Disorder occurs when children continue to produce immature patterns of speech sounds. Therapy focuses on replacing these patterns with appropriate production of sounds. Selective Mutism occurs when a child speaks easily with specific people, but struggles or may not speak at all with others. Therapy focuses on gradual exposure to increasingly difficult tasks. Stuttering is a disruption in the fluency of speech, either by repetition, prolongation, or block on sounds, words, or phrases. Therapy focuses on both stuttering modification and fluency shaping strategies. Voice Disorders are characterized by the voice sounding breathy, strained, having an odd pitch, or other unusual qualities.