About the Nonprofit
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As the only speech and language dedicated nonprofit organization in Chicagoland focused on service provision, CHAT (formerly Center for Speech & Language Disorders) has given children in need the gift of communication for more than 40 years. Focused on inclusion and centered in social justice, CHAT provides life-changing speech therapy to children with few—if any—other options.
Through our clinic, in schools, and in partnership with community nonprofits, we tailor services specifically to children’s needs and build on their strengths. We approach our work with deep cultural humility, understanding the need for systemic change in healthcare and education so that students can be more sustainably supported. We strive for more communication justice by serving under-resourced children whose communication disorders and differences contribute to their inequitable treatment, and by working to remove structural barriers to access. We have worked to become in-network with all regional IL Medicaid plans, making accessible services our priority; bring therapeutic services and programming into communities where they are needed; and offer services regardless of ability to pay by supplementing through our scholarship fund. CHAT exists to include and empower children whose voices have not been heard, helping them to access a better future.
Access to S&L therapy services is not equitable. One in 12 children has a speech or language disorder, but children of color are much less likely to receive services. CHAT works mostly with underserved youth—80% are considered low-income, 90% are students of color and 61% use Medicaid or are uninsured. Endemic under-identification of children needing therapy, barriers to access, as well as the COVID gap in services contribute to the equity gap, resulting in countless underserved children who struggle to communicate.
CHAT is increasingly inundated with demand for our services. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen underserved children with learning disabilities fall further behind as schools have failed to make up for missed services. Children who do receive services in school generally benefit from more than their typically allotted 30-60 minutes per week, but most private clinics will not serve children on Medicaid, or only limited numbers of them.
CHAT provides under-resourced children with services to establish the foundational skills needed for communication, literacy and executive functioning to counteract the following statistical likelihoods:
37% percent of children arrive at kindergarten unprepared; 50% of children from low-income communities start first grade up to two years behind their peers; 74% of children with language impairment have deficits in inhibitory control; 48% have impairments in cognitive flexibility compared to same age, typically developing peers. These challenges can lead to academic and disciplinary issues and contribute to the school-to-confinement pipeline. By developing the foundational skills required to succeed at reading and executive functioning, CHAT improves outcomes for children who need help most.
We believe communication is a human right. We work every day to extend that right to every child throughout Chicagoland.