Child Success Center Team
Speech Therapists Use Telehealth to Support Families
During the Covid crisis, speech therapists are using telehealth to support kiddos and their families during extended at home time.
At this time, perhaps more than ever, we count our blessings, and we are indeed blessed to have at Child Success Center, an extraordinary team of therapists. This May, as usual, we honor our speech therapists during Better Hearing and Speech Month.
Two of our speech therapists, Jeni and Samar, recently spoke via Zoom with CSC Director, Melissa Idelson, about their use of telehealth therapy sessions during the “shelter-at-home” period associated with the Covid-19 crisis, and how they have benefited both therapist and client.
Jeni talks about why she became a speech therapist, and how she uses various methods of therapy, including Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC) to help children communicate and build their social brain. She also shares the ways she’s currently using telehealth to support her clients during the Covid-19 crisis.
Samar shares her experiences using telehealth to conduct speech therapy sessions during “shelter-at-home” period. She has discovered a plethora of new online resources that she is utilizing in her sessions, and feels strongly that many of them will continue to be useful, even after in-person therapy resumes. She is looking forward to having teletherapy as a future alternative when children are unable to make an appointment in person, like during a vacation or when mild illness makes staying home preferable.
Meet the entire CSC Speech Therapy Team
Child Success Center – 10th Anniversary!
by Melissa Idelson, Director – Child Success Center
Looking back over the last 10 years, like most people say, I can’t believe it’s gone so quickly. My daughter was just 3 years old when my dream of having a center that helped children struggling with developmental and learning challenges thrive, came to life. We started off small in the back of a preschool. We turned a small group room into a gym and started to work with children in the Pacific Palisades community. It wasn’t long before we grew out of this space. Good fortune led us to a collaboration with a colleague offering social skills groups in Santa Monica. It was there that our team of occupational therapists, speech therapists and educational therapists grew and built the beginnings of the Child Success Center mission.
Two years later, prompted by the needs of families of the west side communities, Child Success Center moved into its own space on Pico Blvd. and continued to build new programs for children and support for their families. Now at our 10 year anniversary and 8 years in our beautiful 4000 square foot learning space, I feel truly blessed to work alongside a team of experienced, compassionate, dedicated and creative therapists. Every day I look forward to the challenges of the day, knowing that the CSC team will come to the center ready to work and with an inspired plan to help each child learn and grow.
We love what we do and look forward with great expectations to the next 10 years. Thank you to all the parents who have entrusted us with your precious children, and thank you to all the unique and wonderful children we have have the privilege of getting to know.
Melissa…. 
My Life as a Speech Language Pathologist
by Gina Costello, Director, Speech Dept., Child Success Center
The joy, intrigue and satisfaction of working with children as a speech-language pathologist.
Working as a Speech Language Pathologist, it’s hard to believe that I saw my first client 18 years ago. I remember the feeling I had leading up to that first session. It was a mixture of excitement, anticipation and a bit of anxiety knowing that I could help an individual communicate in their world and could have a positive impact on their life. It felt extraordinary!
After all of these years working as a speech language pathologist, I continue to feel the same level of joy and intrigue that I did when I was a new therapist. The difference is, now I have the experience,
patience and understanding to help my clients overcome their communication challenges. In essence, I have more “tools” in my toolbox!
There are many reasons why I love what I do! I’m always excited to try the latest therapy techniques and share new educational tools and tips with parents. I find great satisfaction giving parents
strategies and tips to try at home. As a result, families feel more empowered and so does the child.
Recently, a parent expressed how her relationship with her daughter has significantly improved since they started coming to therapy. She thanked me for being a partner in this process. It felt very gratifying to know that we worked as a team to improve her child’s life.
As a speech language pathologist, I’m constantly being challenged to come up with new and creative therapy activities. I love the freedom that I have in creating a session that suits the specific needs of a child. There’s no better experience than greeting a child in the waiting room and watching them race down the hall to my
therapy room with eager anticipation for the session.
One of my favorite parts of my job is the collaboration with other therapists and professionals in the community. The saying, “It takes a village to raise a child,” couldn’t be more appropriate when it comes to supporting a child who has a communication deficit.
Over the years the expertise, knowledge, advice and encouragement that I’ve received from other professionals has been invaluable. The best part of my job is watching a child grow into a confident and effective communicator. I have watched children go from being nonverbal to talking in sentences. I have seen children who were once very shy and timid become more confident and enthusiastic when communicating with their peers. Every day I work with families is a gift and a reminder of the positive impact I can have on their lives. I am continuously reminded of how fortunate and honored I am to have this opportunity!
More with Gina Costello and recognition of May – Better Hearing and Speech Month
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