Speech Therapy in
High School
Your teen can be confident in their ability to read, write, tell stories to friends, listen in class, and so much more.
Mindful Speech offers speech-language therapy for high school students so they can read, write, speak, and listen with ease.
With Speech Therapy at Mindful Speech:
Your teen will not only know where to start when writing an essay but they will be confident about what they are writing.
Your high schooler will no longer need to reread something over and over again to understand what it says. They will be able to understand and connect their life to what they read.
Your teen will be able to expand their responses from “yes,” “no,” and “ya know” to sharing funny stories and their big, complex ideas with their peers.
Your high schooler will learn to prioritize what is most important so there are fewer late nights. No more last-minute papers and projects!
Are you worried that your teen is going to struggle with school once more and more reading and writing are expected of them in high school and college?
Your teen is struggling with communication and they may no longer have the confidence they used to have.
They may say sentences and tell stories that don’t make sense, they might have difficulty understanding their teachers, and they may be avoiding reading and writing because it’s hard for them.
Sound familiar?
If your teen is falling behind because they are struggling with reading, writing, speaking, and understanding you might be feeling worried and confused.
I believe that any student can learn how to read, write, and communicate confidently.
My goal is for your teen to be able to share their ideas with the world because we need to hear what they have to say.
Hi! I’m Hollis, and I help teens communicate with confidence by helping them with reading, writing, speaking, listening, and executive functioning.
I understand that you might be feeling worried that your teen is struggling. You might even be feeling at a loss for how to help your teen who is falling behind at school or losing confidence.
I’ve worked with many high school students who hated writing essays and laughed at me when I told them they might end up liking writing. And guess what - they all have started to like writing essays.
Every teen I’ve worked with has made progress- just like yours will.
What makes Mindful Speech different?
We work on your teen’s specific challenges.
Thorough evaluations at Mindful Speech mean that therapy will be targeted and efficient. I specialize in working with adolescents so I know what makes reading, writing, and communicating hard for them and how to make it easier.
We get to the root of the issue.
We work on the underlying issues that are causing reading, writing, and communicating to be hard so that therapy is more effective and actually transfers to real life. That means you won’t need a tutor for each class your teen is in because we are learning skills that apply to them all!
You work with just me.
Mindful Speech is a one-woman show so your teen won’t be switched between speech therapists every 3-6 months, meaning you will have consistent care.
4 Steps to Confident Communicators
Step 1: Schedule
In your free consultation call, we’ll talk about what you and your teen are hoping to get out of individual or group therapy so you can be sure I’m the right fit for your family.
Step 2: Evaluation
I’ll assess all of the areas we know are important for reading, writing, and communicating so we can make sure therapy is thorough and efficient.
Step 3: Speech-Language Therapy
We’ll build communication and executive functioning skills so listening, speaking, reading, and writing are easier and more enjoyable.
Step 4: Confident Communication
Your teen will be excited and engaged with reading, confident enough to write essays, and excited to tell stories to friends. They can be themselves out loud and show the world who they are.
Is your high school student struggling with essay writing and you need some quick help ASAP?
I’ve made something just for you!
Click the link below to get my Essay Writing Toolkit for high school students.
Have concerns about starting speech therapy for your high school student?
“Hmmm I’m not sure, let me think about it and come back later…”
Finding a speech therapist that meets your family’s needs can be overwhelming. You might be worried about the cost, time commitment, or if it will actually work for your teen.
The best way to decide if speech therapy with Mindful Speech is a good fit for your family is to schedule a free consultation to discuss your needs.
Worried about the cost?
It might be more expensive to hire a range of tutors when they aren’t working on the underlying issues.
Intervening early can help your teen build a better relationship with reading, writing, and learning in general that will last their lifetime.
Private therapy is more expensive than the therapy provided at your teen’s school but unlike within the school system, you and your teen play a role in deciding on goals for therapy. You also don’t have to fight for more minutes with the school SLP every year.
You might pay more to see me but you can be confident that we are working on all of the aspects of reading and writing. That might be worth the extra cost for your family.
Because I know that private therapy can be a financial stress for many, I try to provide as many groups as possible so that less expensive therapy is available.
In fact, I have a group working on essay writing in high school that might be perfect for your student!
Don’t have the time for speech therapy?
I understand that scheduling speech-language therapy might feel like yet another item on a to-do list that is already long. However, having a designated time every week where someone else is helping your child might be worth it.
It saves you time researching what will help your child and trying to teach them yourself. I do the research for you! You can spend the time you have with your teen connecting and having fun.
Let me take this task off your plate.
Worried that speech therapy won’t help?
In our initial consultation, we will make sure that I’m the right fit for your teen. If I’m not, I’ll help guide you to other professionals so we make sure that speech therapy is successful for your family.
This consultation is completely free and there is no pressure to schedule after our consultation.
Not sure if I’m a good fit? Schedule a consultation to make sure!
Don’t add “schedule a consultation” to your to-do list, just sign up now!
What does Speech Therapy for High School Students entail?
At Mindful Speech, we work on all the language, reading, writing, and executive functioning skills teens need to thrive in high school.
Read below for more information on what language, reading, writing, and executive functioning skills are expected of your teenager in high school and how speech therapy can help them.
Speech Therapy for Language
in High School
Providing speech therapy for high school often focuses heavily on reading and writing.
Most high school classes require students to read books to supplement the learning they do in class and show that they have learned by writing papers and essays.
Together, we work on language in high school by:
Using grammatically correct and complex sentences to confidently talk about all topics of interest, like science, friends, history, climate change, social justice, and politics.
Being able to summarize complex sentences, lectures, and passages in their own words.
Using language to connect to what they are learning in school and being able to summarize what they are learning.
Expanding vocabulary, specifically increasing their comfort using academic vocabulary that is expected in class discussions, presentations, and essays.
Using complex sentences that help express their complex ideas.
Understanding complex sentences, which helps with reading comprehension and listening to lectures
Noticing when they need help and asking for it.
Speech Therapy for Reading
in High School
The transition from middle school to high school can be challenging for students who struggle with reading because students are expected to do more learning outside the classroom through independent reading.
Speech therapy in high school can help teens improve reading comprehension, vocabulary skills, and other aspects of reading that are important for success in high school.
Together, we work on reading in high school by:
Reading textbooks and breaking down complex sentences and words in order to help the student summarize what they read into their own words.
Understanding and being able to describe the perspective and purpose of what they are reading. “Is this trying to educate me, persuade me, or entertain me?”
Making connections between what they are reading and:
topics they are passionate about
what they’re read before,
their own life experiences,
and what they are learning in class
As well as building on foundational skills, like:Making inferences and predictions while reading.
Visualizing what they are reading.
Understanding parts of words that have different meanings, like prefixes (re-do), suffixes (teacher), and grammatical markers (he walks).
Reading words automatically so teens don’t have to sound out every word that they encounter.
Forming and articulating opinions about what they are reading.
Reading sentences with a conversational tone, aka “reading fluently.”
Noticing when they need help and asking for it.
Understanding written directions.
Speech Therapy for Writing
in High School
In high school, students are expected to not only write for a grade when writing essays but they are also expected to write notes during class to supplement their learning.
Students who struggle with spelling, understanding lectures, organizing their thoughts, and writing sentences can easily lose track of lectures while trying to take notes. Many get frustrated and don’t take notes, making studying and learning even more difficult.
Together, we work on writing in high school by:
Practicing note-taking while watching educational YouTube videos and TEDtalks.
Adding transition words to connect sentences within a paragraph and to connect paragraphs within an essay.
Revising and editing their writing, making a personalized editing checklist over time that works for them.
Writing outlines to plan their writing - finding a system that works for them, not a one-size-fits-all worksheet.
Using an outline to write cohesive essays that have a thesis, introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
As well as building on foundational skills, like:
Mastering the basics of writing paragraphs: having a topic sentence, supporting information, and a concluding sentence.
Spelling most words accurately.
Consistently following rules of punctuation and capitalization.
Practicing using more complex language by writing with different conjunctions: coordinating conjunctions like but, so, or and subordinating conjunctions like before, although, whenever, etc.
Mindful Speech is currently putting together a group for high school students to join to improve their essay writing skills.
Learn more about the essay writing groups at Mindful Speech.
Speech Therapy for Executive Functioning in High School
Students in high school are expected to be able to independently manage their work. Gone are the days when a student’s parent could call up the teacher or their friend’s parents to know what homework needs to be completed for tomorrow.
Students may have to access emails, online systems like google classroom, or blackboard to find their homework. Different teachers may also have different systems.
Yikes!
This can be difficult for a teenager who struggles with executive functioning.
Together, we work on executive functioning in high school by:
Developing self-awareness of when they are spacing out, focused, distracted, stressed, etc.
Building self-awareness about their feelings, strengths, and difficulties.
Developing a homework system that works for them.
Planning ahead for big projects: group projects, papers, reading books, studying for midterms and finals.
Following the organizational system of the classroom, even if it isn’t explicit.
Developing organization systems for their personal items, notes, and digital files.
Finding “hacks” that help them get started on difficult tasks they are tempted to avoid.
As well as building on foundation skills, like:
Visualizing what “done” will look like.
Prioritizing work by what is most important.
Building independence:
finding lost and misplaced items.
getting started with work.
figuring out what needs to get done.
identifying when they are finished.
Building awareness of what they can do by themselves and what they need help with.
Building motivation by thinking about their priorities and their parents’ priorities.
Want to learn more about me?
I’m a speech-language pathologist licensed in Illinois and Colorado.
I specialize in providing speech therapy to help children, teens, and young adults to improve language, reading, writing, and executive functioning skills. Now offering in-person sessions in Chicago!
Learn more about me on my About Hollis page.