International House of Life Coaching, dba Life Pathways Speech & Language is owned and operated by Catina Mercer, a native of Greenville, North Carolina, who now resides in Albany, Georgia. Catina has received training in psychology, speech-language pathology, and is also a certified life coach, certified by the Certified Life Coach Institute in Orlando, Florida. She has spent the past 15 years helping adults and children with communication disorders, swallowing disorders, speech disorders, and language disorders. She has a passion for seeing children learn communication, language, and speech skills. Communication is a gift from God and every person of any age has a right to communicate. She is helping children to communicate one word at a time, one child at a time!

Life Pathways is a privately owned business in Florida and Georgia offering speech and language services to school districts, Pre-K centers, child development centers, and children ages Pre-K to 12th grade. We also offer  services for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Adults

Speech and Language evaluation and therapy is available for adults with cognitive impairments, speech, and language deficits.

Autism

Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis has been revised and updated in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5^th Edition (DSM-5). As a parent and community worker, are you aware of what the updated criteria are for a child/teen to be diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)?

When we look at autism, it is a very complex neurodevelopmental disorder and not every child has the same symptoms; so specific, detailed speech/language assessment of your child is very important. We want to look at observations in your child’s natural setting, criterion referenced testing, play based assessment, and parent observations/input among other possible assessment approaches when assessing your child if/when you suspect your child may have autism. Also, establishing goals for communication means looking at how your child communicates now, and what skills your child will need in the future to support his/her language development and what skills will be needed to support foundational learning in his/her curriculum standards and educational setting.

Do you have a child that needs an assessment for speech and/or language, communication?

Contact a representative at IHOLC.

Pre-K assessments

We offer speech and language assessments for ages 3-5. 

Speech-language pathologists offer standardized and non-standardized assessments for children in Pre-Kindergarten to determine areas of strengths and/or needs for articulation and language. We have clinicians with specialized training to identify speech sound disorders and language disorders.

Assist in developing, reviewing, and writing Individualized Education Plans (IEP) for preschool students with disabilities. 

Provide post assessment information to parents and teachers. 

We are a resource for parents and teachers to learn more about autism, language delays, and language disorders.

 

Assessments for Kindergarten-12th grade

 

Speech Sound Disorders

Speech-language pathologists assess, diagnosis, and provide treatment for speech sound production. Speech Sound Disorder is an umbrella term referring to any difficulty or combination of difficulties with perception, motor production, or phonological representation of speech sounds and speech segments—including phonotactic rules governing permissible speech sound sequences in a language.

- ASHA, 2020 

Spoken Language Disorders

Speech-language pathologists at Life Pathways assess and provide treatment for spoken language disorders, also known as an oral language disorders. Spoken Language Disorders represent a significant impairment in the acquisition and use of language across modalities due to deficits in comprehension and/or production across any of the five language domains (i.e., phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics). Language disorders may persist across the lifespan, and symptoms may change over time. 

Fluency Disorders

Speech-language pathologists at Life Pathways assess and treat fluency disorders. A fluency disorder is an interruption in the flow of speaking characterized by atypical rate, rhythm, and disfluencies (e.g., repetitions of sounds, syllables, words, and phrases; sound prolongations; and blocks), which may also be accompanied by excessive tension, speaking avoidance, struggle behaviors, and secondary mannerisms (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association [ASHA], 1993). 

Collaboration

We collaborate with other professionals and clinicians to meet the needs of students. We feel it is beneficial for our speech-language pathologists to demonstrate interpersonal effectiveness in interactions with psychologists, occupational therapists, behavioral therapists, teachers, administrators, and school personnel to meet the unique needs of all students. 

Assessment & Written Reports

Our speech-language pathologists analyze assessment data, compile and organize assessment results, and write descriptive diagnostic reports using specific formats according to district guidelines. One or more standardized norm referenced instruments designed to measure speech and language skills are utilized and interpreted by an SLP to determine the nature and severity of speech and language deficits.

If an SLP is unable to administer a norm referenced instrument, a scientific, research based alternative instrument may be used. 

If you have a child that needs a speech and/or language assessment, contact us today.