KC Developmental Therapies

KC Developmental Therapies is excited to offer home and community based services for children with communication delays, sensory processing needs, Autism Spectrum Disorders and/or developmental delays in the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Area.

KC Developmental Therapies offers:

  • Speech/Language therapy
  • Occupational therapy
  • Floortime-based services for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
  • Home consultation and parent coaching/training
  • Speech/Language evaluations
  • Occupational therapy evaluations
  • Group speech/language treatment
  • Group Floortime-based services

KC Developmental Therapies adheres to an individual-differences approach to treatment. Therapy is based around the needs of each individual child and family.

Speech/Language

KCDT provides speech-language therapy services for children with speech and language disorders or delays. KCDT uses a variety of techniques suited to each individual's needs in order to target improvement of speech and language skills. For young children play-based and child-led activities are most commonly used in order to facilitate generalization of skills. Parents and caregivers are coached in the use of techniques in order to carry-over targeted skills across a variety of settings.

Occupational Therapy

KCDT provides occupational therapy services for children who have difficulties in the areas of sensory processing, motor planning, visual-motor skills, and motor coordination. Occupational therapy sessions target improving a child's ability to participate in play, learning, and self-help skills.

Floortime and Relationship-based approaches

As Floortime-based therapists, KCDT evaluates children based on their individual differences and developmental levels. Individual differences include: sensory processing differences, motor planning differences, auditory processing differences and communication differences. Floortime is based on Dr. Stanley Greenspan and Dr. Serena Wieder's Developmental Individual-difference Relationship-based (DIR) approach to working with individuals with special needs.

Contact

email@kcdevelopmentaltherapies.com
(816) 332-6138

Brookes Metzler Barrack, MS CCC-SLP

  • graduated from Rockhurst University in 2003 with a Master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders
  • began working with children with ASD in 1999 providing respite care and behavioral intervention for children with ASD in their homes
  • have worked in public schools and outpatient clinics with children with:
    • cognitive impairments
    • Down Syndrome
    • Autism Spectrum Disorders
    • Fragile X
    • hearing loss
    • cerebral palsy
    • feeding and swallowing disorders
    • oral-motor disorders
    • speech/language disorders
    • rare genetic/chromosomal syndromes
    • drug and/or alcohol exposure in-utero
    • English as a second language
  • have served as an early intervention speech-language pathologist working in the natural environment with infants and toddlers with special needs
  • hold the ASHA Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) as well as MO and KS State licenses
  • Interactive Metronome Certified
  • have attended numerous courses on:
    • Sensory Processing Disorders
    • Autism Spectrum Disorders
    • Nutrition and ASD
    • Applied Behavior Analysis
    • Discrete Trial Training
    • TEACCH
    • Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing Disorders
    • Augmentative and Alternative Communication

I authored a chapter on a preschool child with autism to be published in the book Communication Disorders: A Case-Based Approach: Stories from the Front Line to be edited by Drs. Shelly Chabon and Ellen Cohn and published by Allyn & Bacon in September 2009.

I am especially interested in using relationship-affect-based treatment approaches and have been trained as a PLAY Project Home Consultant. I am also a Level I Developmental Individual Difference Relationship-Based (DIR)/Floortime Certificate Candidate and am excited to continue pursuing my DIR Certification under the guidance of DIR trained mentors.

brookes@kcdevelopmentaltherapies.com
(816) 332-6138 ext. 1

Emily Tritz, OTD, OTR/L

Emily graduated from Creighton University in 2002 with her Clinical Doctorate in Occupational Therapy. She practiced in the Chicago area for 5 years in a variety of pediatric settings including outpatient clinics, home-based services, as well as early childhood and elementary school settings. During her work in Chicago, Emily worked primarily in a multi-disciplinary clinical setting that specialized in the DIR/Floortime model. She moved to Kansas City in 2007 and worked in an early childhood setting providing OT services in the classroom as well as outpatient and home visits. In January 2011, she completed her certification in the DIR/Floortime model. Emily has additional training in the areas of sensory processing, She holds an OT license in both Kansas and Missouri.

emily@kcdevelopmentaltherapies.com
(816) 332-6138 ext. 2

 

KC Developmental Therapies will provide a bill at the time of service. Payment will be expected at the time of service. We are currently not able to accept payment by credit cards. We are able to bill for some insurance providers; for a complete list please contact us. If KCDT is not an in-network provider for your insurance, we are happy to provide you with any information that may be required to file an insurance claim yourself.

Mileage fees will be applied for families 30 miles or 30 minutes away from our home office. Mileage fees will be discussed at the time when the appointment is scheduled.

KC Developmental Therapies is an Independent Provider for Missouri First Steps.

Please contact us directly for a Fee Schedule:

email@kcdevelopmentaltherapies.com
(816) 332-6138

Floortime

Floortime™ is an intervention approach based on the Developmental, Individual Difference, Relationship-based (DIR®) Model. This model was developed by psychiatrist Dr. Stanley Greenspan and psychologist Dr. Serena Wieder. Within this Developmental Model, there are six functional emotional developmental levels that every child progresses through. A child with special needs often has challenges that prevent them from achieving all of these milestones. The "I" of the model refers to the individual biological differences that each child brings into the world. These biological differences are the challenges that make it difficult for the child to achieve the six developmental milestones. These differences can include challenges related to sensory processing, motor planning, muscle tone, and sequencing abilities. The "R" refers to a child's relationships and interactions with people in his or her environment. This includes caregivers, peers, and family members.

During Floortime™, the focus is on using playful, engaging interactions to help each child climb the developmental ladder. Caregivers, therapists, teachers, and other team members engage the children by following their natural interests and motivations. It is important to use knowledge about a child's specific needs and differences to challenge the child to achieve the six developmental milestones.

Floortime™ typically includes a team approach. The team includes parents, therapists, teachers, and others who interact frequently with the child. "The DIR®/Floortime™ Model emphasizes the critical role of parents and other family members because of the importance of their emotional relationships with the child" (Greenspan & Wieder, 1998).

References

Greenspan, S., M.D., Wieder, S. Ph.D. (2006). Engaging Autism: Helping Children Relate, Communicate, and Think with the DIR Floortime Approach. Da Capo Press: Cambridge, MA.

Greenspan, S., M.D., Wieder, S. Ph.D. (1998). The Child with Special Needs: Encouraging Intellectual and Emotional Growth. Perseus Books: Cambridge, MA.

Providing a helping hand for parents and children with difficulties engaging, relating, and communicating.