Speech & Language Therapy | DIR/Floortime® Services | Bucktown, Chicago

Grove Communication Therapy is a pediatric speech and language practice providing relationship-based, play-centered care for children and families. We offer in-depth evaluations, speech and language therapy, and parent coaching in our clinic, at school visits, and through telepractice. Our clinical focus includes receptive and expressive language, word-finding, language-based learning, reading comprehension, narrative language, and social communication, with a focus on neurodiverse children.

Meet our Founder and Clinic Director

Cortney Grove, MA, CCC-SLP, I/ECMH-C, has more than 20 years of experience as a pediatric speech-language pathologist and is a certified infant/early childhood mental health consultant. She is a DIR/Floortime® Expert Clinician, Tutor, and Trainer, serves on the faculty of Profectum, and teaches in Erikson Institute's early intervention master's program. Cortney guides the clinical approach across our practice and provides ongoing mentorship to every clinician on our team.

Services:

is the
work of childhood

Our work with younger children is play-based and involves family members whenever possible. Children develop communication by forming and sharing their ideas with others, making mistakes, making messes, and problem solving to bring their plans to life.

When students are ready they shift into more structured work for speech and language skills or into social groups to work on communication in dynamic real-time interactions.

PLAY

it [TRULY]
takes a
VILLAGE

Development happens simultaneously across domain areas including communication, cognition, sensory-motor skills, & social-emotional development. Although speech-language pathologists are trained extensively around communication, it's critical for your SLP to know when

and how to work with other professionals.

We understand how critical it is to know the signs and symptoms of challenges in areas beyond communication. We constantly work with families to determine whether other professionals might help foster their child's development. In addition, we close collaborative relationships with other professionals in our area and will foster new relationships if you already have a team in place.

Empowering
parents to
maximize
growth

One of our favorite ways to work is in concert with a child's own family. By weaving together knowledge of attachment, development, and communication we support parents

in thinking through challenges and in creating

opportunities for growth.

Specialized services aren't always available in

your area, so we offer video-based parent

consultations in the convenience of your home.

BEYOND
test scores

Communication is a complex, dynamic process. Formal tests, though useful, simply can't capture all components of communication. We use a tailored combination of formal and informal evaluation tasks, observations, consultation with clinicians, and trust in the knowledge of family members to understand each child's unique communication profile and make decisions about how best to support their development.

As our founder and clinical director, Cortney is dedicated to the mentoring and clinical supervision of our team, graduate clinicians, SLPs, occupational therapists, educators, mental health clinicians, and medical providers in both individual and group settings. She uses a combination of didactic and reflective methods to empower other providers to problem solve and integrate a transdisciplinary lens. Mentoring is case-based or topic-based depending on the needs of the individual or team and often shifts over time. Cortney integrates knowledge related to development, communication, infant/early childhood mental health, and DIR/Floortime® in supporting professionals.

KEEP
growing

DIR/Floortime® is an intervention framework that grew out of the work of Serena Wieder, PhD & Stanley Greenspan, MD. The model integrates developmental expectations (D) and an individual's unique profile (I) to encourage progress in the context of meaningful relationships (R). While perhaps most well known as a treatment for autism, DIR is a useful framework for any developmental intervention and Cortney integrates it into all of her sessions. It relies on attuned reciprocal interactions as the best setting for change. Our team uses DIR as a central framework for supporting families. Cortney is recognized as a trainer, tutor, and expert clinician in DIR/Floortime® and enjoys teaching and mentoring on the model.

Start our conversation:

What clients are saying:

Cortney’s compassion, dedication and expertise in her field are reflected in the progress of her clients. Cortney is always willing to collaborate, consult & support Her client's other therapists and teachers.

Amanda

therapeutic classroom teacher

Services:

is the work of childhood

PLAY

Start our conversation:

What clients are saying:

is the
work of childhood