SPEECH, LANGUAGE AND VOICE THERAPY ACROSS THE LIFESPAN

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Foothills Speech and Language is one of few outpatient offices treating patients of all ages struggling with a wide range of communicative disorders.

Exceptional quality care is our goal. Providing individualized, evidence-based practices, specific to each patient with a focus on functional and lasting outcomes is our commitment to you.

Our knowledgeable staff has treated patients ranging from 5 days of life to 105 years of living.

Therapists
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Jeff Steffen M.A., CCC-SLP, Founder

Founded practice in 2009. Over 30 years’ experience in Metro area. Specialized interests in voice and resonance disorders, cleft lip and palate and craniofacial differences.

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Julia Sobek M.A. CCC-CF-SLP

Joined practice in June 2019. Specialized interests in swallowing disorders and post concussion treatment.

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Terry Eberly M.A., CCC-SLP

Joined practice in July 2014. 40 years as a certified Speech-Language Pathologist. Specializing in swallowing disorders, stroke and brain injury assessment and treatment.

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Kari Bales M.S., CCC-SLP

Joined practice in August 2018. Specialized interests in voice and swallowing.

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FAQ
What insurance providers do we accept?
Contracts:
Medicare, Medicaid, MultiPlan PHCS, United Health Care, Humana, Pacificare, EverCare, Secure Horizons, Anthem BCBS

In Network:
TriWest Prime CHP+, Colorado Access, Rocky Mountain, Kaiser

Out of Network:
Aetna, Cigna/Great West, Bright Health

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What disorders do we provide therapy for?
Pediatric Disorders:
Articulation, Language Disorders, Reading/Spelling, Voice Disorders, Resonance, Cleft Lip and Palate, Fluency, Traumatic Brain Injury, Tongue Thrust, Dyspraxia, Attention Deficit, Autism Spectrum, Auditory Processing, Congenital Issues, Genetic Conditions, Neurological Deficits, Dyslexia, Hearing Impairment, Sign Language ...and more

Adult Disorders:
Laryngeal Pathologies, Refactory/Chronic Cough, Voice Disorders Aphasia/Stroke, Dysarthria, Memory Deficits, Neurological Concerns, G.E.R.D, Vocal Cord Dysfunction, Transgender Voice, Head Injury, Tongue Thrust, Degenerative Disease, Mild Swallowing concerns, Spasmodic Dysphonia, LSVT-LOUD (Parkinson's Disease), Cognitive Rehabilitation, Accent Reduction ...and more

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When is the best time to start therapy?

Therapy can start as soon as a concern is present. Waiting for things to resolve “on their own” can be detrimental to remediation of many disorders of communication. It is best to be evaluated by a Speech Language Pathologist and have him/her answer this question as they are the experts. Obtaining a referral from your physician is often helpful.

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How long will therapy last?

This is a great question that is hard to answer and truly varies on a case by case basis. We often will provide a potential “range” of treatment to help families/patients prepare and plan. The complexity and severity of diagnosis, current level of functioning, identifying possible obstacles for learning and family needs are all taken into consideration when answering this question.

Treatment for some diagnoses can be as few as two or three visits while others may take several months or longer. In general, we recommend weekly, thirty minute sessions, with re-occurring visits when possible. Home program ideas are shared and recommended with almost all sessions. We strive to educate our patients and involve family members so that you will feel comfortable and confident in generalizing skills into the home and beyond.

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Why am I being referred to a speech language pathologist for this?

Our profession, unfortunately, is greatly unknown to the general population despite the fact that over 30 million American’s suffer from communication disorders. Our field is involved in persons across the lifespan. There are several types of treatment settings from educational, medical to specialized consultation. If there is an issue involving the brain, respiration, cognition, swallowing, developmental delay, hearing, auditory perception, attention, speaking, reading, writing, vocal performance, muscle tone, or laryngeal function there is a good chance an SLP may be involved. If you have questions we can help provide answers.

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Will my insurance cover this?

Knowing the details of your specific insurance policy is the best way to be prepared to answer this question. We will never guarantee that your insurance will cover services. Also remember that even an “authorization” is not a guarantee of payment. We adhere to ethical and professional guidelines when submitting claims to your insurance company and will do so in a timely manner.

Medical insurance typically covers “medically appropriate” treatment based on the diagnosis and procedure billed. The definition of medically appropriate varies from policy to policy. If your insurance company does not cover the costs of our treatment, we have several different payment options available to you.

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Forms & Policies
Please Complete Intake Form and Policies & Procedures:
Intake Form (All Patients Complete)

Voice Form

Cough Form

Vocal Chord Disfunction

Policies:
Policies and Procedures, Privacy Policy

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Testimonials

"My son was diagnosed with ASD nearly 3 years ago when he was 22 months old. Since the beginning we have been coming to see Jeff Steffen. His work with my son has been so thorough without sacrificing patience; and his ability to connect with him is tremendous, even on his first day. When it seemed next to impossible to communicate with my son, Jeff has captured ways to make it happen."
-Elena M.

"Throughout my life, I have struggled with both a learning disability and a speech impediment. I have battled self-doubt and the fear of rejection, sparked by those who said I would never be successful, would never graduate from high school, or ever get married because no girl would be able to understand me. With Julia’s help, I have been making progress for the first time in my life with my speech impediment. Julia is an outstanding and compassionate person to work with. She strives to understand and relate to her clients, and has specifically inspired me to be more confident in my speech. If I were asked one word to describe her, it would be “hero.” She has helped me believe that I am more than my struggles and has encouraged me not to let my speech impediment define me. Because of Julia, I want to help others with speech impediments, lifting them up and motivating them as Julia has done for me."
-Robert T.

"Brooke has worked so hard with my 5 year old who has had difficulty producing sounds. Today is his last day as he is now able to produce all sounds! Thank you Brooke!"
-Jillian H.

"Jeff was recommended to us by our Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) physician when our 13-month old son was not speaking. Jeff was able to make our therapy sessions fun for our son and he gave us guidance on how to better encourage speech for our young son. Our son made huge improvements immediately after working with Jeff and he continues to improve daily. Our son is now 2 and he is at average or above average levels. Jeff has the unique ability to be able to communicate effectively with children and adults. Jeff's love for his work radiates from him. we are so grateful for everything that he has done for us."
-Stephanie and Chad M.

"Ms. Julia did awesome with our daughter. Really- she figured out so many ways to get our daughter to put that tongue in the right spot for the 'R' sound. We so appreciate Julia!"
-Katie M.

"Ms. Brooke was fantastic for our 4 year old. She was able to quickly identify the trouble spots and helped our child correct herself by helping her hear the sounds. I cannot say thank you enough."
-Lindsey M.

Contact

Location:
26 W. Dry Creek Circle, Suite 425
Littleton, Colorado 80120

Contact Form:

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Jeffs studies in the field of communication disorders began at the University of Maine at Orono. After moving to Colorado, he completed a Master of Arts degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Professionally his first twelve years were spent at The Children's Hospital Northwest Specialty Care Center. He worked for another private practice until opening Foothills Speech and Language LLC in June of 2009.

In addition to working and managing Foothills Speech and Language LLC, Jeff continues to work with the Children's Hospital Colorado Cleft Lip and Palate Team, an area of professional expertise. He is also an appointed faculty member for the University of Colorado, Boulder Campus, teaching graduate students on cleft lip and palate. Mr. Steffen remains active in state and national organizations. He has taught and lectured at local, state and international venues. He currently also serves as the Vice President of the Colorado Speech Language Hearing Foundation.

Spare time is devoted to helping raise his children, skiing, hiking, golfing, and home brewing.


Julia joined Foothills in June 2019. She received her bachelor’s degree in Communication at DePauw University. Before obtaining her Master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology at Miami University, she also worked in public health research for Northwestern University in Chicago. This sparked Julia’s interest in patient care and how medical providers can best treat and influence their patient’s path to recovery. Julia has worked as an SLP with patients across the lifespan in the hospital, clinic, skilled nursing facility and school setting. Additionally, she has conducted research investigating the validity of evaluation tools (cervical auscultation) in detecting swallowing disorders, and in sports concussion management in collegiate athletes. Julia is very passionate about working as a team with patients and their families to provide the most effective and meaningful treatment that impacts their life both inside and outside the therapy room. In her free time, Julia loves cooking, baking (i.e. perfecting her chocolate chip cookie recipe), reading historical fiction novels, running, and traveling.

Maggie received her Master's Degree from MGH Institue of Health Professions in Boston, MA and has been working as an SLP in a vriety of settings for the past 13 years, such as acute care, skilled-nursing facilities, schools, and private practice. Thus, she has been able to hone her skills in a variety of areas including feeding/swallowing, language, and cognition wit the adult population. However, her true passion remains in pediatric assessment and treatment of articulation/phonology, language, voice/resonance and literacy, as she recently became a Certified Reading Specialist. Maggie has recently moved to the beautiful state of Colorado and looks forward to all the great activities it has to offer!

Terry received her Bachelor and Master degrees from the University of Northern Colorado. she has practiced as a Speech-Language Pathologist for over 30 years specializing in areas of swallowing disorders, the effects of stroke and brain injury, and medically complex patients. She has been active for over 15 years with the Colorado Speech-Language-Hearing Association and is the acting President of the Colorado-Language-Hearing Foundation. Her hobbies include hiking, snowshoeing, reading and listening to great music. She is a Colorado native.

Kari received her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Northern Colorado in 2014. She has experience treating patients of all ages, and is knowledgeable in the areas of articulation/phonology, stuttering, language delay, aphasia, voice, and swallowing disorders. Kari is especially passionate about the areas of voice and swallowing. She has extensive experience performing Modified Barium Swallow Studies (x- ray swallow tests) and is a trained endoscopist for FEES and Stroboscopy. She is trained in NMES (neuromuscular electrical stimulation), laryngeal manipulation, circumlaryngeal massage, and is a certified provider of MDTP (McNeill Dysphagia Therapy Program). She values research-based practice and individualized therapy tailored to help patients succeed in and out of the clinic setting. Outside of work, Kari enjoys reading, traveling, spending time with family and friends, dance/fitness, biking, movies, and baking.