Who needs pediatric speech therapy?
Some children find it hard to communicate in traditional ways. Our speech therapists assess and treat the unique needs of a child who may be showing delays with expressive speech, how they understand the world around them, or social skills. Your child may benefit from speech therapy if he/she has trouble putting sentences together, stutters or experiences difficulty with sensory processing. Speech and language disorders are often common in children with autism, Down syndrome, cleft-palate, sensory dysfunction, verbal apraxia, head injury, and many other syndromes.
How does speech therapy work?
Pediatric speech therapy treat communication challenges, both expressive and receptive, that cause children to have difficulty with verbal communication. Speech therapy also treats oral motor concerns, such as chewing and swallowing, as well as articulation, auditory processing, hearing loss and social skills.
What is a Speech Disorder?
Disorders of speech are characterized by difficulty in producing speech sounds correctly, omitting or distorting sounds, or difficulty with producing a few sounds with no pattern. Treatment procedures at Therapy South include the following steps:
Assess the client’s individual skills and strengths
Discuss finding and plan with the family
Prepare the materials for therapy
Establish rapport with the child
Treat with different therapeutic approaches
Educate caregivers to carry over learning at home
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
Children with severe speech or language problems may need to find other ways to communicate besides talking. There are many types of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) they can use.
Speech-language pathologists, or SLPs, can help.
We offer one on one sessions for your child to be evaluated for a speech generating device (usually and IPAD and unique speech generating software). We provide you with the training to use the device and ensure that your child is being set up for success.
Hearing Loss
Hearing loss can affect a child’s ability to develop communication, language, and social skills. The earlier children with hearing loss start getting services, the more likely they are to reach their full potential. If you are a parent and you suspect your child has hearing loss, talk to your doctor about initiating speech therapy services with us.