About Avivit Ben-Aharon
Founder & Clinical Director at Great Speech Inc. | Providing Innovative Alternatives to Speech Pathology Services
Entries by Avivit Ben-Aharon
Transportation Barriers Disrupt Clinic Appointments for Speech Therapy: Virtual Sessions Overcome Challenges, Impact Health
/ in Speech Disorders & Articulation | Virtual Speech Therapy / by Avivit Ben-Aharon
Transportation significantly impacts health, well-being and quality of life. It is also key to addressing social determinants of health (SDOH) as transportation barriers often impact travel to brick-and-mortar office appointments for speech therapy. When there’s limited or no access to public transit services or use of a vehicle, further complicated by long distances and [...]
CDC Reports 1 in 36 Children Diagnosed with Autism, Signals Growing Need for Speech Therapy
/ in Children Diagnosed with Autism | Virtual Speech Therapy / by Avivit Ben-Aharon
Setting off alarms to healthcare payers, providers and patients/families nationwide, the most recent findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network was released in March 2023: based on data from 8-year-olds in 2020, 1 in 36 children were identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This [...]
Communication Challenges Impact Older Adults: Social Relationships, Isolation, Loneliness, Medical Conditions
/ in Social Pragmatic Communication Disorder / by Avivit Ben-Aharon
Older people who can’t express their thoughts or feelings and have difficulty communicating with friends and family may have a higher risk of social isolation and loneliness. The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified this as an important – yet neglected – social determinant of health (SDOH). When seniors can’t communicate, many become reclusive, depressed [...]
New Partnership with Health Network One Adds Access to Great Speech Virtual Speech Therapy Services for Members, Expands Specialty Care Services
/ in Virtual Speech Therapy / by Avivit Ben-Aharon
Building on our impressive number of new contracts with health plans, Great Speech is now partnering with Health Network One, a leader in specialty healthcare network management serving Medicaid, Medicare Advantage and commercial health plans. More than 5 million members nationwide now have access to in-network specialized speech therapy services. Plans that are included in [...]
The Connection Between Hearing Loss & Speech Development
/ in School Success & Reading Comprehension / by Avivit Ben-Aharon
Hearing loss can have significant effects on the development of a child’s speech and language skills and cause speech and language delays. When a child experiences hearing loss, the areas of the brain that are used for communication may not develop as they should. This typically results in difficulties in understanding others and speaking [...]
Virtual Speech Therapy Can Help Adults Reach Their Communication Goals
/ in Virtual Speech Therapy / by Avivit Ben-Aharon
The ability to communicate effectively is an important part of everyday life. Adults may have specific communication goals, whether it’s speaking more confidently in public, improving articulation or even addressing a life-long speech impediment. However, attending in-person speech therapy sessions may not be feasible for everyone due to busy schedules, transportation challenges, mobility issues [...]
Summertime is a Great Time for Speech Therapy Activities
/ in Virtual Speech Therapy / by Avivit Ben-Aharon
Summer offers the perfect window for children and adults alike to make progress on their communication goals. Summertime often means shifting into a lower, slower gear with life becoming less stressful and more relaxing. It’s traditionally a time to recharge and relax, but it also offers a time to support children’s communication skills [...]
Virtual Speech Therapy is a Proven Tool to Address Social Determinants of Health (SDOH), Improve Quality of Life
/ in Virtual Speech Therapy / by Avivit Ben-Aharon
As successful healthcare delivery shifts away from the long-time volume-based delivery model, wellness is a powerful tool demanded to control costs. A core group of socioeconomic factors are responsible for 40% of a patient’s health. Treating SDOH helps people overcome adversity that degrades their wellness. Virtual speech therapy addresses three SDOH indicators: * Patient education [...]
Speech Sound Disorder
/ in Speech Disorders & Articulation / by Avivit Ben-Aharon
What is a Speech Sound Disorder? Speech sound disorder is a type of communication disorder that causes difficulty speaking clearly and producing certain speech sounds required to communicate. Children with speech sound disorders often struggle to control their voice, and may also exhibit speech problems such as a stutter or lisp. It is often difficult [...]
Articulation Disorder vs Phonology Disorder
/ in Speech Disorders & Articulation / by Avivit Ben-Aharon
Phonological and Articulation Disorders are types of speech sound disorders that can impact an individual’s ability to speak clearly and be understood by others. But many people wonder what is the difference between the two. While these two types of speech sound disorders have similarities, they are also significantly different, and the approach in [...]
Great Speech Launches Gender-Affirming Voice Therapy Services, Offers Specialized Training for Speech-Language Professionals
/ in Voice Therapy | Gender-Affirming Voice Therapy Services / by Avivit Ben-Aharon
As part of their transition process, transgender individuals can benefit from gender-affirming speech therapy services. As our speaking voices are an audible way to present who we are to the world, speech therapy services provide the support transgender individuals need to align their voice and communication style with their preferred gender. “Voice is a gender [...]
The Role of Play & Leisure Activities in Cognitive Speech Therapy for Children
/ in Early Child Development / by Avivit Ben-Aharon
Play skills are incredibly important when it comes to speech and language development among children. Play and leisure activities provide some of the earliest opportunities for a child to learn and develop their social skills and form significant relationships. A play-based approach in speech therapy serves the long-term development of higher-level language functions as the [...]