Travis Dockter SLP

I have experience and specialize in the following areas of practice:

Autism/ASD

Autism is a collection of characteristics that looks vastly different from person to person, and typically involves difficulties within social interactions. It is important to focus on what skill challenges cause the most difficulties. There are also a wide range of different tools, programs, and skills that individuals with Autism can use. Sometimes solutions can be easy, such as changing the environment by dimming the lights. Other times it is more difficult, such as trying to teach how to read a situation for important details when every detail looks important.

AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communicaton)

AAC devices or tools are used for individuals who struggle with being able to express themselves verbally to others. There are a lot of different tools that can be used to help someone communicate with those around them. Some of these tools can be “high tech” and involve a computer generated voice that produces a message that is physically selected. Others can be “low tech” and consist of simple picture boards or charts. It is important to determine the easiest, most efficient, and cost effective way to help an individual express their wants needs and opinions in order to lead to an independent and self-directed life.

Social Communication

Knowing what to say, when to say it, and to whom can be a difficult task to develop. It requires being able to “read” a room/environment, noticing non-verbal facial and body language cues, and then use these subtle clues in coordination with a guess of what the other person could be thinking, feeling, or even want. It is a skill that always requires a different response and is completely dependent on the context. Improvisational comedy techniques can be an effective tool to use in order to teach and practice social communication skills.

Articulation

Articulation relates to how we make speech sounds using the mouth, lips, and tongue. Being able to speak in a clear and non-distracting manner is important so the listener can focus on the message, rather than how the message is being communicated. Sometimes only a small adjustment is needed to make the desired sound.

Expressive and Receptive Language

Language refers to the words we use and how we get what we want. It  involves using a collection of individual concepts that are important in order to understand others and follow directions (receptive language). It also refers to being able to share ideas, thoughts, or opinions (expressive language). This could range from being able to use and understand a variety of grammatical forms to being able to understand specific concepts (on, finish, after, last, etc.). Language also relates to how we sort and express our ideas and how we summarize conversations, movies, or stories.

Auditory Processing

Auditory Processing refers to the effectiveness and efficiency with which we process auditory information. Individuals who struggle with auditory processing are physically able to hear information or sounds, though they may struggle with being able to retain, understand in depth, pick out specific details, or know what to do with this  information, especially in a noisy environment.

IEP (school age) and IFSP (pre-school) Process

Speech therapy and other special education services are free and publicly available from birth through age 21 within the public school and early childhood systems. Being able to understand these systems, what options are available, and why different decisions are made can be a difficult and overwhelming process. Often times parents or caregivers may not access these services simply because they do not know they are available. It can be helpful to have someone help navigate and understand these systems or to provide another perspective.