Elisabete Giusti
Credentials:Recognized by Apraxia Kids for Advanced Training and Expertise in Childhood Apraxia of Speech. SLP, PhD in Linguistics. CRFa. 2-9473/SP.
Business Name: Private Practice
Business Address:
Avenida Jamaris
Edificio Wall Street – 100, Sala 208
São Paulo, 04078-000, Brazil
Business Phone: 11974641560
Business Email: atrasonafala@gmail.com
Hours of Operation: Mondays to Fridays from 8am to 6pm.
Business Website: http://www.atrasonafala.com.br
Locations Available: Clinic/Office, Virtual Telepractice
Additional languages in which you provide services: Portuguese
Minimum Age Served: 6 months
Maximum Age Served: 18+ years
Percent of CAS cases: >76%
Overall Treatment Approach:
My intervention with children with CAS is based on the recommendations outlined in the ASHA CAS Technical Report and Motor Learning Principles.
Motor therapy is different from traditional therapy, as CAS is a deficit in planning and programming the sequence of movements for the production of speech sounds. The SLP, through specific motor strategies (adequate selection of targets, use of multisensory clues, use of feedbacks and organization of practices, repetitive practice), promote the adequate co-articulation of speech movements. All these aspects must be addressed in a functional context and must be very motivating for the child. The participation and involvement of parents in this process is essential.
Parent Involvement:
After the assessment, parents will receive a detailed explanation of what CAS is and all manifestations related to this condition. Next, an intervention plan will be presented, with specific and realistic goals, with a description of all the objectives and strategies that will be used. At the end of each session, parents will receive feedback on how the session went and will receive an assignment(s) to practice at home to help with the process of retaining and generalizing the skill worked on in the session. Parents will be able to watch the interventions and when they cannot, I will be able to send demonstrative videos.
Apraxia Community Involvement:
I live in São Paulo (Brazil) and CAS was an unrecognized diagnosis here. Together with parents of children with CAS, in 2016 we created ABRAPRAXIA – Associação Brasileira de Apraxia de Fala de Infância and since then, we have been working hard to raise awareness and recognize this diagnosis. Apraxia Kids has been our inspiration in implementing actions in this area. For more information access: www.apraxiabrasil.org, Instagram (apraxiakidsbrasil) and Facebook (apraxiakidsbrasil) As an SLP I am committed to always studying and working hard so that our children reach their best potential.
AAC Use:
CAS has levels of severity (mild to severe) and because it is a persistent disorder that presents with other co-occurring diagnoses (e.g. language disorder), the use of AAC should always be considered as a way to enable communication skills and consequently social participation and effective participation in all daily activities of the child. I do not have specific training in the AAC area and therefore, I will refer you to other SLP colleagues who have experience in this area and who work with different approaches (low and high technology) and who will be selected according to the specificities and needs of each child.