The Center for Speech and Language Disorders (CSLD) was founded in April 1979 as a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. Its mission is to help children with communication disorders reach their full potential through family-centered services. At the time, Phyllis Kupperman, a CSLD founder, found that many children were excluded from receiving services because of their familiesÂ’ inability to pay. She recognized that a not-for-profit structure would enable them to offer critical services at or below cost. Started as a part-time operation in three small offices in Elmhurst, today, CSLD has two sites, Lombard and Chicago. CSLD continues to reach into the community and provide easy access to speech and language therapy services to all, specifically economically disadvantaged youth.
Our Principles and Values
All children, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, be able to communicate, socialize and thrive so they can succeed at whatever they wish to do.
There is an important connection between service, family and community and this connection is critical to the success of each child.
Therapists do not take a cookie cutter approach to treatment. They recognize that one type of treatment does not fit all children, or all disorders.
All therapeutic methods are research based and thus decisive and sound.
Speech and language therapy in the therapistÂ’s office is not enough to help the child. An important component is the familyÂ’s ability to emulate the therapeutic objectives in the home.
It is critical to understand how speech and language skills change throughout a childÂ’s life. Early treatment might focus on the childÂ’s first words while later therapy helps the child use speech and language for telling stories and understanding concepts and academic learning.
CSLDÂ’s ability to combine excellence of service, include family-oriented therapy, and enable the community to help those who cannot pay, exemplifies its dedication to its mission.
Our Philosophy
CSLDÂ’s vision is that all children, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, be able to communicate and thrive so they can succeed at whatever they wish to do. The staff provides cutting edge therapy in a professional and caring way. Excellence is the touchstone of everything they do. These values shine through when families continue to consult with CSLD therapists as their children go through different stages of life and when families and their children donate dollars and time to further CSLDÂ’s efforts.
CSLD is dedicated to high-quality family-oriented therapy. They believe that speech and language therapy in a center is not enough to help the child. An important component is the familyÂ’s ability to emulate the therapeutic objectives in the home. Educating family members is critical to the success of any treatment plan. The first step in this education process is for families to observe each therapy session in an area set up next to their childÂ’s treatment room. This observation allows the family to view the actions of the therapist as well as the responses their child gives to these actions. After the observation period, the therapist meets individually with the family to translate what they observed into specific activities that can be done at home to continue the therapeutic efforts.
The final connection CSLD creates is with the community. The community is an integral part of CSLD’s success because of its financial support. CSLD makes every effort not turn any child away regardless of ability to pay. The “Help A Child Fund” was created to help reduce fees for clients who could not otherwise afford to receive service.