Special Strong is giving local businesses a platform to share how their services can make a difference for people with special needs. This service provider is Habla Speech Therapy & Certified Autism Center, a speech and hearing impairment center.
About Habla Speech Therapy & Certified Autism Center
We specialize in treating children with speech and language impairments. A large percentage of our patients are on the autism spectrum and many of our families speak Spanish. We have offices in Mesquite and Oak Cliff and all of our therapists are bilingual. All of our SLPs are Certified Autism Specialists and our practice is a Certified Autism Center. We see kids for private therapy with insurance or Medicaid and we also do Independent Educational Evaluations (second opinions when parents disagree with school testing) as well as some Charter School contracting. All of our therapists receive additional training on behavior support, sensory processing/integration, and special education law/advocacy to better serve children on the autism spectrum and other disabilities as well as their families.
How Habla Speech Therapy & Certified Autism Center Got Its Start
I became an independent contractor because I often felt my hands were tied by “policy” and “funding” working as an employee at other facilities. For example, the outpatient clinic I worked at wouldn’t let therapists send chew tubes or feeding supplies (ie special spoons/cups) home that our patients needed to practice, but families were unable to purchase on their own. In the schools, my bilingual recommendations were often not given proper consideration in by the lead SLP in IEP goal development. So I decided that to make the most of my gift, I needed more control. So I started out contracting with home health agencies that needed bilingual therapists. Bilingual colleagues often seeked a practice like ours that understood the Spanish speaking population (culture, SES, developmental norms, and bilingual materials).