Language: The Morris Center uses a combination of multisensory language therapies to remediate and strengthen a client's specific language difficulties. Phonological awareness difficulties are the predominant problem in most clients with reading, spelling and language difficulties. Our language team is directed by a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist and is skilled in the use of a scientifically proven systematic treatment program. Our neurodevelopmental approach to using the Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing Program (LiPS®) is designed to develop normal levels of phonological processing for children and adults with developmental reading and spelling problems (dyslexia) and acquired language difficulties (post-stroke, post-neurosurgery, post head injury, post-radiation therapy). In addition to the LiPS Program®, other interventions address language comprehension and expression, grammar and syntax, and written language difficulties. Our unique treatment program is intensive, frequent and individually tailored for a high degree of specificity (e.g. 2-6 hours/day 5 days per week). These features of our treatment program help us maximize a client's gains in the shortest amount of time possible. Because of our comprehensive, interdisciplinary team, each treatment program is individually designed to maximize the gains for each of our clients.

Sensorimotor: Research shows that many individuals with dyslexia or learning disabilities have sensory integration difficulties that compound their deficits.  Clients generally receive Occupational Therapy (OT) services one to two hours per day in order to optimize their progress in language therapy.  Sensory integration deficits may include oral-motor difficulty, motor planning difficulty, fine and gross motor delay, visual perceptual delays, and somatosensory deficits. Addressing both language, sensorimotor and attention deficits increases the chance that our program will help each client reach their academic or occupational goals. 

Medical: Because our clients typically have neurologically based disorders (dyslexia is both a neurological and genetically transmitted disorder), medical evaluation and treatment monitoring provide a complete picture of each client's neurodevelopmental needs. Other medical conditions may co-occur with language-based learning difficulties (e.g. LD/SLI/SLD), such as ADHD, anxiety disorders and/or depression. Our child and adolescent psychiatrist, Ph.D. nurse practitioner and/or clinical psychologists assess and treat these conditions as necessary. The medical component of the team is involved in weekly progress monitoring of both langauge and OT treatment within out intensive program. They also provide behavioral and pharmacological interventions as needed to also help maximize each client's gains during our intensive treatment program.

Behavioral: Children and adults with language-based learning difficulties commonly suffer a low self-esteem stemming from repeated frustration, failure or the constant use of compensatory aids to "work around" specific language and/or sensorimotor difficulties. The Morris Center's staff focuses on helping clients develop effective skills and behaviors to strengthen their language, sensorimotor and/or behavioral weaknesses. As their skills improve in language and sensorimotor domains, our clients typically develop a strong sense of self-competence, enhanced self-esteem and a realization that they will leave our program with a new set of language and learning skills. Also, for pediatric clients, the family is educated in behavior management to ensure that good working behaviors are maintained at home and in the school environment after treatment. For our adult clients, a spouse or significant other is educated in how to support continued development of the client's improved language and learning skills.