What is Speech Therapy?
What to look for:
Articulation Disorders: This when a kid has trouble saying certain sounds or saying words correctly. “Run” might come out as “won.” Or “say” may sound like “thay.” Lisps are considered articulation disorders.
Fluency Disorders: If a kid repeats certain sounds and has trouble saying the complete word, he or she may have fluency disorder. For example, a kid trying to say “story” might get stuck on the “st” and say “st-st-st-story.” Or he or she might draw out certain sounds and say “ssssssstory.” A stutter is a fluency disorder.
Resonance or Voice Disorders: A kid might have a voice disorder if people have trouble understanding him or her. The kids might start a sentence loud and clear, but it’s quiet and mumbling by the end. Sometimes these kids sound like they have a cold or like they’re talking through their noses.
Language Disorders: A kid who has trouble understanding people or has trouble putting words together to express thoughts might have a language disorder.
Swallowing Disorders: A child with feeding or swallowing difficulties (dysphagia). Symptoms include: falling asleep while eating, breathing difficulties while eating or drinking, eating only certain foods, food aversion, breastfeeding difficulties, lengthy feeding times, difficulty chewing, excessive drooling, coughing, or gagging while eating, and maintaining appropriate weight.
Intervention
Articulation Disorders: Articulation treatment focuses on targeting speech sounds errors at isolation, word, and sentence level. Where intelligibility is concerned, the focus is on helping children to assimilate the phonological rules and promote generalization to other sounds in the pattern.
Fluency Disorders: Evidence-based treatments are implemented to provide compensatory strategies.
Resonance or Voice Disorders: Treatment includes improvement of voice production and respiration coordination, compensatory techniques, restoring exercises, and modification strategies
Language Disorders: Treatment focuses on restoring executive functions, providing compensatory strategies and training family and caregivers.
Swallowing Disorders: Treatment depends on the cause, symptoms, and type of swallowing problem. An SLP may recommend: Swallowing exercises to improve muscle movement, a modified diet, or referral to a physician to consider alternative treatment options.
Diagnoses Most Treated at TLC
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD/ADD)
- Developmental Delay
- Down Syndrome
- Cerebral Palsy (CP)
- Accident-Related Injuries
- Ankyloglossia (Tongue Tie)
- Hearing Impairment
- Weak muscles around the mouth
- Vocal nodules/Hoarseness
- Breathing Disorder
- Swallowing Disorder