Speech & Occupational Therapy at Our Brooklyn Park Center
Key takeaways
- Speech and occupational therapy happen at our Brooklyn Park center, delivered by a contracted therapy partner, not Neurolink staff.
- Speech-language therapy (SLP) builds communication; occupational therapy (OT) builds sensory, motor, and self-care skills.
- On-site speech and OT is for children enrolled in our ABA program, coordinated with their ABA team. If your child is not enrolled with us, we help by referring you out.
- We serve children ages 2 to 10; EIDBI and Medical Assistance are welcome.
- We coordinate the speech and OT intake with the partner and stay involved to keep it smooth; the agency still runs its own evaluation, authorization, and billing.
Care that works together, under one roof
A child making progress in ABA therapy often does best when communication and sensory-motor skills get focused attention too. Speech-language therapy (SLP) and occupational therapy (OT) do exactly that, and having them in the same building changes how the whole plan holds together.
To be clear about how this works: Neurolink Academy is a BCBA-led ABA provider. We do not employ speech-language pathologists or occupational therapists ourselves. We partner with a contracted therapy agency that delivers speech and OT on-site, so your family gets coordinated care instead of a scattered set of appointments.
One building, one schedule
Instead of driving to three clinics in three parts of town, your child receives ABA, speech, and OT in the same place, on a schedule we help coordinate.
Teams that talk to each other
With your consent, your child's speech-language pathologist, occupational therapist, and BCBA share progress so they pull in the same direction.
Skills that reinforce each other
A word practiced in speech therapy gets used all day in ABA; a grip built in OT shows up at snack time. Progress in one area feeds the others.
Less for you to carry
Fewer separate appointments, fewer waiting rooms, and one team that already knows your child means less logistics and stress for your family.
What each therapy works on
Both are individualized to your child and built on their strengths. Here is what speech-language therapy and occupational therapy each tend to focus on.
Speech-language therapy
Communication & language
Expressive and receptive language
Building the words and sentences a child uses, and how well they understand what is said to them.
Requesting and functional communication
Helping a child ask for what they need, in whatever way works for them, so frustration goes down and connection goes up.
AAC for nonspeaking and minimally speaking kids
Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), like picture systems or speech devices, gives every child a reliable voice. Research shows it supports spoken language too.
Social and pragmatic language
Taking turns in conversation, reading social cues, and using language to play and connect with others.
Speech sound clarity
Working on how sounds and words are formed when that is what is getting in a child's way.
Occupational therapy
Sensory, motor & daily life
Sensory processing and regulation
Helping a child's nervous system handle sound, touch, and movement, so the world feels less overwhelming and easier to stay regulated in.
Fine motor skills
Grip, hand strength, and precision for the small movements behind writing, fastening, using utensils, and play.
Gross motor and coordination
The larger movements like balance, posture, and body awareness that help a child move through their day with confidence.
Self-care and daily living
Dressing, feeding, toileting, and hygiene: the everyday routines that build real independence at home and school.
School readiness
Sitting for circle time, handling classroom materials, and the motor groundwork for handwriting.
Speech, OT, and ABA: how they fit together
The question we hear most is whether a child needs speech or OT and ABA. They are not competing options. They look at the same child from different angles.
Speech therapy
How a child communicates and understands language.
Could own: building a working AAC system for a nonspeaking child.
Occupational therapy
Sensory regulation, motor skills, and daily-living independence.
Could own: the self-care and fine-motor steps behind getting dressed.
ABA therapy
Teaching and generalizing skills so they hold up across the whole day.
Could own: making sure new words and routines carry over everywhere.
In practice they overlap and reinforce each other: a word built in speech therapy gets used all day in ABA, and the motor skill OT works on shows up at the lunch table. Your child does not need all three by default. An evaluation and your BCBA help decide what genuinely fits.
Who provides the speech and OT
We think you deserve a straight answer about who works with your child. Speech and occupational therapy at our center are delivered by a contracted therapy partner, not by Neurolink staff. It is part of being enrolled in our ABA program, and here is exactly how it works.
A separate agency employs the therapists
The speech-language pathologists and occupational therapists are licensed clinicians employed and supervised by our contracted therapy partner. They bring their own expertise, standards, and clinical oversight.
Neurolink provides the space and the coordination
We are a BCBA-led ABA provider. We host speech and OT on-site and coordinate scheduling so your child can receive them in the same building as their ABA, without you managing three separate clinics.
The teams share progress, with your consent
When you give permission, your child's speech-language pathologist, occupational therapist, and BCBA communicate about goals so everyone is working toward the same things.
We coordinate the intake; the partner runs its own process
We coordinate the speech and OT intake with the partner and work closely with you and the agency to keep it smooth. Because the partner delivers the service, they still run their own evaluation, authorization, and billing through your child's coverage.
When a child may benefit
There is no checklist that decides this for you, and you do not have to figure it out alone. These are the situations where families most often ask us about adding speech or OT.
A child working hard on communication
If getting words out, being understood, or having a reliable way to communicate is a daily struggle, speech-language therapy may help alongside ABA.
Sensory or motor challenges that get in the way
Big reactions to sound or touch, trouble with stairs or utensils, or difficulty with writing and self-care are the kinds of things occupational therapy addresses.
Families already enrolling for ABA
If your child is joining our ABA program and also needs speech or OT, having both on-site folds them into one coordinated schedule instead of separate clinics across the metro.
A team that recommended more than ABA
If an evaluation or your child's BCBA suggested speech or OT, our intake team can help you add it through our therapy partner.
Covered for most Medical Assistance families
For children enrolled in Minnesota Medical Assistance, speech and occupational therapy are generally covered medical services, often connected to the EIDBI benefit, and many families pay nothing out of pocket. Because our therapy partner delivers these services, they verify your coverage and handle their own authorization and billing. See the plans we accept for ABA, or let our team point you in the right direction during EIDBI intake.
EIDBI & Medical Assistance welcome
The same coverage that makes ABA accessible usually covers speech and OT too. We will never guess at your benefits; we verify them.
One intake to start
Begin with our intake. For children in our ABA program, we coordinate speech or OT with our on-site partner; if we are not the right fit, we help you find a provider.
Questions about speech & OT
Who provides it, what each therapy does, and how coverage works.
A separate, contracted therapy agency. The licensed speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and occupational therapists (OTs) who work at our center are employed and supervised by that partner, not by Neurolink Academy. Neurolink is BCBA-led and provides ABA therapy; we bring speech and OT in-house through this partner so your child can receive all of them in the same building, on a coordinated schedule.
Speech-language therapy supports how a child communicates and understands language: expressive and receptive language, requesting and functional communication, social and pragmatic language, and speech sound clarity. For children who are nonspeaking or minimally speaking, it also builds augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), such as picture systems or speech devices, which research shows can support spoken language too.
Occupational therapy (OT) focuses on the skills behind everyday life: sensory processing and regulation, fine and gross motor skills, coordination, and self-care like dressing, feeding, toileting, and hygiene. The goal is not to change how a child experiences the world, but to help them manage it and gain real independence at home and school.
Often they work best together. They are not competing options. ABA teaches skills and helps them generalize across the whole day; speech therapy builds the mechanics of communication; OT builds the sensory and motor foundation. Many children benefit from more than one. Your child's evaluation and BCBA help decide what actually fits, rather than signing up for everything by default.
For children enrolled in Minnesota Medical Assistance, speech and occupational therapy are generally covered medical services, often connected to the EIDBI benefit, and many families pay nothing out of pocket. Because our therapy partner delivers these services, the partner verifies coverage and handles its own authorization and billing. Our intake team helps you make the connection and can talk through what to expect.
Our on-site speech and occupational therapy are for children enrolled in our ABA program, so the teams can coordinate and reinforce the same goals. If your child is not enrolled with us, we do not provide standalone speech or OT, but we will still help by referring you to a provider that fits your family.
It starts with intake into our ABA program. We look at your child's needs, what their evaluation or BCBA recommends, and your coverage, then coordinate the speech or OT intake with our partner agency and stay involved to keep the process smooth. If your child already attends for ABA, you can ask your BCBA at any point.
Start your child’s intake today
Connect with our BCBA team. We confirm your EIDBI coverage and match your child with the right clinician. Intake takes about five minutes.
- BCBA-led from day one
- EIDBI · Medical Assistance covered
- Intake in about 5 minutes