Our new location is NOW OPEN!
Hours: Monday, Wendesday, Friday: 8am-6pm
Saturday: 8am-11:30am
952-212-0385
1226 East 4th Avenue, Shakopee, MN 55379
Press Release October 17, 2011
Open the Door to Your Child’s Communication:
Expressions in Motion Speech Therapy Center Opens in Shakopee
Shakopee, Minnesota – For 21 years, Kay Ely has devoted her career as a speech therapist to advocating, counseling, training, teaching and developing communication programs for children with all forms of speech and language disorders. Her commitment to expand and enhance access to a wider array of services for children with autism and their families inspired her to found Expressions in Motion LLC in 2007.
While continuing to work as a speech therapist in public schools and private clinics, Kay started Expressions in Motion to provide personalized, home based education, consulting, and therapy in the child’s natural and private environment. In September 2011, Kay expanded Expressions in Motion to include a new speech therapy center in Shakopee.
The center includes a waiting area, play room and a large therapy room where Kay can address a child’s speech and language delay, oral motor and sensory needs, develop communication skills, hold social skills classes, and provide private therapy for adults. Specializing in children under the autism label, Expressions in Motion speech therapy center is also the first in the region to incorporate The Miller Method, an evidence-based therapy technique.
The Miller Method (www.millermethod.org) uses a specially designed elevated square (for children up to 70 pounds) to help establish normal developmental skills in children affected with autism and related disorders. The parent(s) works along with the therapist during the therapy session to instill social-emotional interaction and parent-child bonding. “It is vital,” Kay says, “to begin language development as early as possible.”
The Miller Method has been proven to improve a child’s body awareness, organizational skills, understanding of spoken speech, and ability to focus and follow directions. Additional outcomes of providing therapy on an elevated surface include teaching motor planning and problem solving, heightening self-awareness and eye contact, improving the ability to handle transitions, and turning undesirable behaviors into functional ones.
According to Kay her job is “to open the door to successful communication with a child, and then give the keys to the parents.” Since her time with each child is limited, Kay says, “Parents play a vital role in enhancing their child’s understanding and use of language every day. The primary tool every child needs to develop language is an involved parent; the more knowledge and control parents hold, the better success their child will have.”
Expressions in Motion also offers social thinking classes for adolescents, teenagers, and young adults on the Autism Spectrum. The classes explore and work on improving cognitive-based social skills that impact daily life and social interaction. “Would you begin a long trip without first learning the route?” Kay asks. “Likewise, every adolescent should begin their long journey with a social roadmap that leads to success.”
Kay also provides individual child and program consultation, professional training and program development to all agencies, schools and clinics that are concerned with the total life of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
With a passion for making every client feel understood, powerful and successful, Expressions In Motion encompasses a developmental and individualized approach for all. Kay embraces all children, adolescents, teenagers, and adults who have any form of speech delay, non-verbal communication disorder, or expressive and receptive language delay. Expressions in Motion also welcomes students who have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) that may need additional therapy outside of their school sessions.
Expressions in Motion Speech Therapy Center is located in Shakopee at 1226 East 4th Ave., Suite 160. Current office hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday, from 8 am-6 pm and Saturdays, 8-11:30 am.
At Expressions in Motion, your first visit is free. Contact Kay by phone (952-212-0385) or email (k@expressionsinmotion.com) to discuss the needs of your child and schedule an appointment. More information, including an informative monthly newsletter, can be found at www.expressionsinmotion.com.
