Latest News
Welcome to our Latest News section, where you can find the latest updates on our services, events, and achievements. Oceanview aims to be a team of qualified and experienced therapists who are passionate about helping children with various communication needs and mental or emotional challenges. We offer individualized and evidence-based assessment and treatment plans for children 21 and under.
We are excited to share these updates with you and look forward to being a resource for your family.
We are excited to announce that Oceanview Therapy is expanding our services to include mental health support for individuals 21 and under! Starting in January, we are proud to welcome Reniqua Moore, MSW, a compassionate and highly skilled master’s-level social worker, to our team. Reniqua brings a wealth of experience in supporting children, teens, and young adults with their mental and emotional well-being. Reniqua is dedicated to listening attentively to each child’s and client’s unique needs, working closely with families to incorporate their goals into a personalized plan of care. Her client-centered approach ensures that the well-being and priorities of each individual come first, fostering a supportive and collaborative environment for clients to be heard. Through individual counseling, coping skill development, and a strengths-based approach, we aim to provide holistic care that fosters resilience and confidence. Together, we’re here to support your child’s journey to thriving emotionally and communicatively!
We have expanded our number of providers to include SLP-A services in Palmdale, California. We would like to introduce you to Arlene Valentine, certified speech-language pathology assistant (SLP-A). Arlene graduated from Arizona State University and provides in-home services to children in greater Palmdale, California. Arlene implements treatment plans guided by Oceanview’s lead speech pathologist, providing therapy services on the West Coast. We are excited to have Arlene on board! Please contact us if you are interested in private in-home services near Palmdale.
We proudly announce that Carmen was given an Award for Continuing Education (ACE) in July 2023 from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). This award recognizes that Carmen has undergone over 70 hours of additional training and education in continuing education units (CEUs). This award recognizes Oceanview’s excellence in professional development.
Carmen completed “Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) and its Place Amongst Complex Speech Disorders,” a course from Fitchburg State University (Fitchburg, Massachusetts) that delves deep into childhood apraxia of speech and its effect on young children. CAS, its unique challenges, and the latest evidence-based practices surrounding assessment and treatment were studied.
We are excited to announce that Oceanview Therapy, LLC has obtained new and updated speech-language assessments to thoroughly evaluate clients and determine the presence of a communication disorder. Formal assessment is a process of evaluating a client’s communication skills using standardized tests and measures. It is an important tool to help identify the nature and severity of a communication disorder, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of a client’s communication abilities. These tests can help determine appropriate goals for treatment plans and help guide the outcomes of a therapy program. Some of the formal assessments that we provide to our clients include:
– The Test of Language Development – Primary: Fifth Edition (TOLD-P:5): is a standardized assessment measuring spoken language in children aged 4-8. It evaluates semantics, syntax, phonology, and morphology skills.
– The Test of Language Development – Intermediate: Fifth Edition (TOLD-I:5): is a standardized assessment measuring spoken language in children aged 8-17. It evaluates semantics, syntax, phonology, and morphology skills.
– The Expressive Language Test – Second Edition: Normative Update (ELT-2 NU): is a norm-referenced test that evaluates expressive language skills in children aged 5-12 years. It covers vocabulary, morphology, syntax, and verbal reasoning skills.
– Test of Written Language – Fourth Edition (TOWL-4): is a norm-referenced, comprehensive diagnostic test of written expression. This evaluation offers seven subtests that assess conventional, linguistic, and conceptual aspects of students’ writing.
– The Rossetti Infant-Toddler Language Scale (RITLS): is a criterion-referenced tool that assesses infants and toddlers’ preverbal and verbal communication skills from birth to 36 months. It covers interaction-attachment, gestures, play, language comprehension, and language expression domains.
– At Oceanview Therapy, we are committed to providing assessments that are fair, equitable, and culturally sensitive for all children. As part of this commitment, we have discontinued the use of the The Preschool Language Scales – Fifth Edition (PLS-5) due to its documented biases against culturally and linguistically diverse populations. Research from Columbia University, including insights from this poster presented at the American Speech-Language Hearing Association conference in 2015, highlights significant concerns regarding cultural and linguistic biases in standardized tests like the PLS-5, which may inaccurately assess the abilities of children from diverse backgrounds. Instead, we utilize assessment tools and dynamic approaches that are evidence-based, inclusive, and better aligned with the unique needs of the children and families we serve.
We also use informal assessments, such as observation, language sample analysis, caregiver and teacher interviews, and rating scales, to complement the formal assessments and obtain a comprehensive picture of a client’s communication skills. If you are interested in receiving a formal assessment from Oceanview, please contact us to schedule an appointment.
Carmen has been accepted into the University of Cincinnati’s Special Education Leadership Certificate program. This certificate focuses on special education law, treating autism spectrum disorder, and the ethics of special education. Carmen aims to offer expertise in special education leadership roles and enhance her contributions as an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) team member in public schools.
