We believe by helping children meet their speech, language and learning challenges the working with parents, children and therapists to help each child become braver, stronger and smarter while realizing their academic potential.
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Our Free Services
Encourage provides free evaluation, treatment, and advocacy to learning and communication challenged children. Intervention is based on each child and family's unique strengths, weaknesses, and needs. We serve children who have difficulty with listening, speaking, paying attention, remembering, reading, and writing between 18 months and 15 years of age. We diagnose the problem and create an individualized treatment plan.
To apply for free speech, language and learning services complete Email below and send us your information. We will send you an application so you can tell us more about your child's needs, you can cut and paste the application into an email or you can download the PDF below.
Our Free Services
helping children with speech language and learning challenges
Our Story
Tom Tatum Speech Language Pathologist
Tom was born in Tulsa Oklahoma and grew up in 5 different states until settling in Guam where he went to Junior and High School. He played football and baseball at Fresno City College. Tom has 3 married sons and 9 grandchildren. He and his wife Maureen enjoy baking, gardening and raising cattle. Tom has actively participated in triathalons, scuba diving, snow skiing, wake boarding, and car racing as hobbies.
Tom graduated from California State University Fresno with a BA in Psychology\Communication Disorders and a MA in Speech Pathology. He went into private practice in 1983 and has provided speech, language and swallowing therapy services throughout the Central Valley serving children and adults.
Therapy
The mission of the Center is to provide free services to children with language, literacy, and learning challenges. We serve children who have difficulty with listening, speaking, paying attention, remembering, reading, and writing between 18 months and 18 years of age. We diagnose the problem, create a treatment plan. Our treatment is designed for each individual child’s needs. To receive free speech, language and learning services Email us your information. We will send you an application so you can tell us more about your child's needs.
encouraging children to overcome lives challenges
Making A Difference
The Centers story is best told through the lives of the children we touch
She is a beautiful little girl whose speech was not easily understood. She cried when she was asked to repeat herself. As her speech improved she became braver and would even talk to strangers. In preschool, she began to participate in circle time and letting everyone know that she knew her colors and shapes.
As a high school freshman, he came to us four grade levels behind. He was failing in school and frustrated. He began to look for negative ways to get attention. After four months at the Center, he was reading only a half a grade level behind. His teacher described him as the model student, “he is a kid I want in my class”. His Mom said it best “I got my boy back”
A 17-year-old boy has difficulty reading due to a traumatic brain injury. It took him an hour to read 2 sentences. Through the use of a computer program that reads aloud for him, he passed the DMV test to get his driver's license. The Center has been able to demonstrate that he has the ability to perform on grade level if he is given an equal playing field. He is on track to graduate from high school using this technology and the help of the Center.