Parent Info
Many people think that Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) only work with people who have trouble making certain sounds (articulation) or who have stutters or lisps. However, the scope of practice of a speech-language pathologist is much broader than most realize. While speech-language pathologists do handle lisps and stuttering, they are also trained to help children with a variety of disorders.
SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTS HELP TREAT:
- Apraxia/Oral Motor Speech Disorders: a motor planning issue which results in incorrect production of various speech sounds.
- Articulation/Phonological Awareness Disorders: errored production of sounds resulting in reduced speech clarity (not caused by motor planning issues).
- Auditory Processing Disorders: difficulties analyzing and processing spoken language.
- Communication Disorders related to Autism: a range of speech and language difficulties that can include expressive language, receptive language, and social communication difficulties.
- Executive Functioning/Higher Order Thinking Skills: difficulties with the planning, organization, inference, and prediction skills needed for language-based tasks such as reading comprehension and written assignments.
- Expressive language problems: difficulties with verbal expression that may be due to a limited vocabulary or grammatical sentence structure complications.
- Fluency problems: difficulties with the flow of speech, such as stuttering and cluttering.
- Oral feeding problems: difficulties with eating (chewing, different textures), swallowing or drooling.
- Pragmatic language problems: difficulties using and understanding the nuances of language in social situations.
- Receptive language problems: difficulties with understanding spoken language.
- Resonance or voice problems: difficulties with voice pitch, volume and quality (raspy, nasal, breathy).
Speech & Language Red Flags
The development of a child’s speech and language skills start before their first word is spoken. If a child is experiencing difficulties with their speech and language development, the earlier intervention can begin, the greater the chance of success in therapy and in school.
Developmental Red Flags that may necessitate Speech-Language Therapy
- Is your child difficult to understand? Do they leave out sounds when talking or distort the intended sound?
- Is your child not putting words together by age 2?
- Does your child hesitate, repeat, or prolong words?
- Does your child have an unusual vocal quality?
- Does your child have difficulty with the rules of grammar?
- Does your child lack specific vocabulary (uses “thing” and “stuff”) or do they appear to not be able to come up with the desired word?
- Have you or teachers noted concerns regarding reading, writing, and comprehending in the classroom/home?
- Do you have to repeat yourself multiple times for your child to understand what is being expected of them? Is following multi-step directions difficult?
- Does your child have difficulty relating to peers (inappropriate remarks, lack of eye contact, difficulty initiating or maintaining a conversation)?
- Does your child repeat back whole words or phrases (when not appropriate)?
No one knows your child better than you do. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s development, please contact us for a free consultation.
What to Expect with Speech-Language Therapy
Beginning speech and language services may not be something that you ever planned on having to experience. However, we are here to walk you through the process so you know what to expect.
To begin, the speech-language pathologist will compile information regarding the difficulties that your child is experiencing from a range of sources. This can include anything from parent/teacher interviews to standardized tests to playing games and toys with your child. Once the speech-language pathologist has determined the area of need, determining the best course of treatment can begin. Depending on the child’s needs, therapy sessions may include one-on-one, small group, or in-classroom treatment to help build and generalize the carry-over of skills to all environments.
Speech and language therapy isn’t always a quick fix. It takes hard work over many months, or even years, depending on the severity of your child’s needs. However, with consistency, progress or complete remediation is possible. Additionally, parental involvement, such as completing exercises at home, can make speech therapy more effective.
AT OWLS THERAPY, WE BELIEVE THAT PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS ARE INTEGRAL TO SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT.
All of our therapists will provide education and at-home activities to help skills generalize.
Client Portal
If you are a current client of OWLS Therapy, you can access our Client Portal here.