Specialty Clinics
Connecting with the Community
Our specialty clinics provide individualized, evidence-based speech, language, and swallowing services to individuals and families in our community. Each clinic focuses on specialized areas of care while offering graduate student clinicians unique opportunities to develop advanced clinical skills through hands-on experiences under the supervision of licensed speech-language pathologists. Together, we strive to enhance communication, promote independence, and improve quality of life.
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Poulation Served
Clients that would benefit from Augmentative and Alternative Communication devices
and are in need of a diagnostic evaluation.
About the Clinic
The AAC Diagnostic Clinic is designed to reflect the professional experience of guiding a client and their family through the world of AAC from start to finish. Students participate in a complete diagnostic experience for new AAC users, including feature matching, device trials, group therapy, and report writing.
AAC evaluations are often hard to come by for clients in need due to insurance issues, long wait lists, etc. Not only is this service free for the community, but students get to experience a specialized part of the field that they otherwise may not come across in their graduate education.
Program Details
Age Ranges: Pediatric and Adult
Typical Placement Length: 1 Semester
Location: Ludden Speech and Language Clinic
Program Details
Age Ranges: 18-22 years old
Typical Placement Length: 1 semester
Location: Ludden Speech and Language Clinic/Warde Academic Center
Poulation Served
Adult Transition population
About the Clinic
This practicum experience allows graduate student clinicians the opportunity to work with clients between the ages of 18-22 years old to provide functional, meaningful social and vocational experiences. A variety of learning experiences are to be expected, specifically in the provision of individual, vocational, and social therapy services. Unique to this specialty clinic, The Cougar Cart vocational setting provides clients with opportunities to gain experience in stocking and taking inventory, greeting and engaging in conversation with customers, totaling the cost of items purchased, and assisting in the Tap to Pay process.
In this clinical experience, graduate clinicians have the opportunity to create a cohesive three-hour therapy plan in which individual therapy goals are integrated into social and vocational settings. Graduate clinicians focus on strengthening client connections not only with one another but also with the SXU community. Specifically, stationing the Cougar Cart work experience in the Warde Academic Center allows opportunities for education about interacting with persons using alternative and augmentative communication devices.
Poulation Served
Individuals living with aphasia
About the Clinic
Aphasia Choir meets weekly to engage in singing as a choir with appropriate communication
support to promote participation and success. This group demonstrates the power of
music in connecting the participants socially and is a joyful hour for all involved.
This is one of the few aphasia choirs to meet fully in person. This group combats
the social isolation and lack of community connection often caused by aphasia. The
group is supportive of one another as they learn to sing new songs in a fun, engaging
environment. The group is open to all levels of musical talent, from beginners to
highly experienced singers.
The semester ends with a concert for the members' families, friends, the students and faculty. It is an hour of pride for all in attendance.
Program Details
Age Ranges: 40-85 years old
Typical Placement Length: Semester
Location: Ludden Speech and Language Clinic
Program Details
Age Ranges: 18-22 years old
Typical Placement Length: 12-14 weeks
Location: 10701 S. Kilpatrick Avenue, Oak Lawn, IL 60453
Poulation Served
Individuals with special needs including Autism, Intellectual Disabilities, Down Syndrome
About the Clinic
The Adult Transition Program (ATP) is a unique specialty setting for speech therapy because it focuses on developing functional communication and social-pragmatic skills that directly support students' independence and success in real-world environments. Speech pathologists provide meaningful opportunities to practice these skills through a variety of clubs and activities, such as Scrapbook Club and "Blended Together," a student-run smoothie business, allowing students to work on communication goals in authentic, engaging situations.
What makes ATP unique from other clinical experiences is the opportunity to provide speech therapy within natural, functional group settings where students can immediately apply their communication skills with peers and staff. Rather than focusing solely on individual therapy, students practice social-pragmatic skills, self-advocacy, problem-solving, and functional communication through authentic activities, clubs, vocational experiences, and community-based opportunities.
Poulation Served
Geriatric
About the Clinic
Brain Health Group partners with United Rehab Providers, a community adult day program, to provide cognitive communication services to seniors with moderate to severe dementia within the Ludden Speech and Language Clinic. Dynamic, interactive, and functional cognitive communication activities are implemented to assess and therapeutically promote memory, reminiscence, engagement, stimulation, attention, receptive and expressive language, pragmatics, and executive functioning.
Program Details
Age Ranges: 65+ years old
Typical Placement Length: 12 weeks
Location: Ludden Speech and Language Clinic
Program Details
Age Ranges: 65+
Typical Placement Length: 12 weeks
Location: 6060 W. 95th Street, Oak Lawn, IL 60453 (United Rehab Providers)
Poulation Served
Cognitive-communication impairment and dysphagia secondary to dementia and related
disorders.
About the Clinic
Breakfast club partners with United Rehab Providers, a community adult day program, to provide functional swallowing and cognitive communication services for seniors with moderate to severe dementia. Service learning and clinical care includes dynamic mealtime assessments, identification and education into compensatory swallow strategies, cognitive stimulation, reminiscence therapy, cognitive communication activities, and development of community-focused resources and infographics to educate and counsel in dementia-care practices.
Program Details
Age Ranges: 22-30 years old
Typical Placement Length: Semester
Location: Various Community Settings
Poulation Served
Elementary and Middle School Students (K-8th Grade)
About the Clinic
Students provide speech therapy to address cognitive communication skills related to the workplace and vocational skills. The group is engaged in volunteer opportunities near campus to practice vocational skills to build experience for the workforce. The individuals in the group have a goal of securing gainful employment and this group helps build skills for success in the workforce.
This group provides services to young adults who have completed a high school transition program or college. There are few services available for support and continued growth after school programs end. This type of programming is needed for many young adults with disabilities to continue to develop skills that lead to increased independence and help them meet their potential. The group can also help community partners learn about the benefits of hiring young adults with disabilities and the positive contributions they can bring to the workforce.
Poulation Served
Elementary and Middle School Students (K-8th Grade)
About the Clinic
Graduate clinicians visit Blue Island each week to provide language and literacy enrichment to underserved populations in the nearby community. This clinic simultaneously ensures graduate clinicians gain hands-on clinical (prevention) experiences with multilingual and multicultural elementary and middle school students.
Student clinicians have the unique opportunity to practice culturally responsive care in live time, such as considering the impact of dialects, second language learners, and the overlap of language and literacy when risk factors for learning are also at play.
Program Details
Age Ranges: 5-14 years old
Typical Placement Length: 1 hour/week
Location: 12731 S. Wood Street, Blue Island, IL 60406
Poulation Served
Individuals with special needs including Autism, Intellectual Disabilities, Down Syndrome
About the Clinic
Cougar Club is a unique specialty clinical setting that serves young adults with disabilities and focuses on developing functional communication, social-pragmatic skills, and independence. Student clinicians provide speech-language services within engaging, real-life recreational and leisure activities, including "Around the World," "Game Show," and "Sports" Clubs, allowing participants to practice communication, social interaction, problem-solving, and daily living skills in authentic situations. This experience is unique because it moves beyond traditional therapy sessions and allows student clinicians to support meaningful communication and independence while building relationships and creating opportunities for participants to actively engage in their community.
Cougar Club is unique because it provides the opportunity to deliver speech-language services within natural, functional group settings where young adults with disabilities can immediately apply communication skills with peers and staff. Rather than focusing primarily on traditional individual therapy, student clinicians target social-pragmatic skills, self-advocacy, problem-solving, functional communication, and independence through authentic clubs, and recreational activities. This setting allows student clinicians to see how communication skills directly impact participation, relationships, and independence in everyday life while gaining valuable experience working with a diverse population in a collaborative, engaging environment.
Program Details
Age Ranges: Young Adults
Typical Placement Length: 8 weeks
Location: 3700 W. 103rd Street, Chicago, IL 60655 (Saint Xavier University)
Poulation Served
Early Intervention (EI) through high school clients.
About the Clinic
This specialty clinic on campus provides graduate clinicians with hands-on clinical experiences in the full process of evaluation and diagnosis of pediatric and young adult clients. The clinic simultaneously provides diagnostic care and service recommendations at no cost to families in the community requesting speech/language evaluations.
Graduate clinicians are able to focus intently on the processes and planning surrounding diagnostic evaluations. This clinic guides clinicians through case history reviews; family/client interviews to collect additional client information; the creation of diagnostic outlines; experience with administering and scoring various assessment batteries; and documentation of evaluation results and recommended services/goal areas.
Program Details
Age Ranges: 1-18 years old
Typical Placement Length: 3 hours/week
Location: Ludden Speech and Language Clinic
Program Details
Age Ranges: 80-102 years old
Typical Placement Length: 1 semester
Location: 3659 W. 99th Street, Chicago, IL 60655
Poulation Served
Geriatric
About the Clinic
Students meet with residents of Mercy Circle Assisted Living and provide fun and cognitively stimulating activities for seniors. This is a prevention group in the area of cognitive communication.
This specialty clinic provides experience communicating and building rapport with geriatric clients. Students are able to plan activities that will engage geriatric clients while considering and appreciating interests and life experiences of the geriatric population. Students are also able to practice the ability to match communication style of a different generation.
Poulation Served
Preschool - Elementary School students
About the Clinic
This placement addresses various individualized speech/language needs of Title I students within the school setting and will lead graduate students in the planning and execution of pediatric school-based speech/language evaluations, goal writing, and therapy sessions. Student clinicians have the unique opportunity to experience the elementary/middle school setting with the typical combination of evaluations and treatment. Graduate clinicians complete hands-on speech/language evaluations, write diagnostic reports, and draft SMART therapy goals for the semester. Clinicians track weekly intervention data/progress and then report goal growth in progress reports.
Program Details
Age Ranges: 3-12 years old
Typical Placement Length: 2 hours/week
Location: 2153 W. 111th Street, Chicago, IL 60643
Program Details
Age Ranges: 14-18 years old
Typical Placement Length: 2 hours/week per semester
Location: 10001 S. Pulaski Road, Chicago, IL 60655 (Brother Rice High School)
Poulation Served
Adolescents with Autism, Specific Learning Disability, Down Syndrome, Language Impairment
About the Clinic
Students in this specialty clinic work with the Mount Sion program at Brother Rice High School, where four clinicians are assigned to support high school students in developing higher-level language skills. Services target inferencing, problem solving, answering higher-level questions, social skills, and conversational skills. The experience is unique because Mount Sion is the only private high school program in the area focused on vocational development, with students earning a certificate of completion rather than a high school diploma.This experience is unique because it takes place in a school-based vocational program rather than a traditional clinic, giving students the chance to work with adolescents and young adults on functional, real-world communication. Instead of focusing on foundational skills, sessions target higher-level language, such as inferencing, problem-solving, and answering complex questions, along with the social and conversational skills these students will need in the workplace and community. Because Mount Sion is the only private high school program in the area that leads to a certificate of completion instead of a diploma, students gain exposure to a population and service model they are unlikely to encounter in other placements.
Poulation Served
Private Catholic elementary school, students in preschool, kindergarten and first
grade.
About the Clinic
Graduate students work in small groups of three or four children to enrich the language development skills for preschool, kindergarten and first-grade students. This practicum allows the students to see firsthand the different skill levels among young children, typical language development, and opportunities to refine behavior management techniques and explore the use of children's literature as a teaching tool.
Most of the children in this practicum fall within the range of typical development. This practicum allows graduate students to deepen their understanding of speech and language development during a time when rapid growth is occurring. This practicum uses a small group intervention style which is used in most public-school settings. Managing materials and behaviors for a group can be challenging and this practicum provides learning opportunities for our graduate students before they head off to the school practicum experience.
Program Details
Age Ranges: 3-7 years old
Typical Placement Length: 1 Semester - 4 Hours/week (3 with children, 1 planning sessions)
Location: 9320 S. 55th Court, Oak Lawn, IL 60453
Program Details
Age Ranges: 23-35 years old
Typical Placement Length: 1.5 hours
Location: 3700 W. 103rd Street, Chicago, IL 60655 (Saint Xavier University)
Poulation Served
Adults with Autism, Down Syndrome, Intellectual Disability, Language Impairment.
About the Clinic
Students in this specialty clinic lead a social group for adults ages 23–35 with intellectual disability, autism, Down syndrome, and language impairment. Sessions focus on building functional social skills, such as following and taking turns leading group exercise, sharing interests, and inviting friends to do activities together, so members can carry these skills into daily life and be as independent as possible. What makes the experience unique is the chance to support adults, including AAC users, in a comfortable, safe environment designed for practicing real social interaction.This experience is unique because it serves adults with developmental disabilities, a population many graduate students have little exposure to, in a group setting focused on real-world social interaction. Sessions target practical skills such as asking a friend to hang out, sharing interests, asking friends what they like to do, and planning activities around shared interests, all aimed at building independence. Several members use AAC devices, giving students hands-on experience supporting AAC and total communication in a natural social context.
Poulation Served
Individuals living with Parkinson's disease and related disorders.
About the Clinic
SPEAK OUT!® is an evidence based program to improve speech production with individuals with motor speech impairments due to Parkinson's disease and related disorders. Students complete SPEAK OUT!® student training and administer a weekly group to improve speech production and communication success for adults.
FIND OUT MOREProgram Details
Age Ranges: Adult
Typical Placement Length: Semester
Location: Ludden Speech and Language Clinic
Program Details
Age Ranges: Birth-3 years old
Typical Placement Length: 1 Academic Semester
Location: 5100 Museum Drive, Oak Lawn, IL 60453
Poulation Served
Pediatrics - Early Intervention
About the Clinic
This practicum experience allows graduate student clinicians the opportunity to work with the public community at the Children's Museum in Oak Lawn providing family education, communication strategies/milestones/information, and modeling with the birth to three population. Wee Ones is a one-hour weekly event at the Children's Museum where the museum is closed to older children and is open only for children under the age of three.This practicum experience will provide opportunities to engage with the birth-three-year-old children to model play and communication elicitation strategies with families and help to develop confidence when communicating with families and caregivers. Opportunities to facilitate small group activities and speech and language screenings may be available.
This clinical experience is unique in that services are provided to the public community in group settings, as opposed to individual one-on-one therapy sessions. Pushing into the community in a family-friendly setting allows students to support families in a different capacity than in a therapy room.