Speech/Language Therapy

What is Speech/Language Therapy?

Speech/Language therapy addresses a very broad spectrum of concerns, mostly regarding communication skills. A child can be evaluated and receive treatment for concerns regarding intelligibility (how well you understand your child), the content of language (vocabulary, complexity of phrases), receptive language skills (how well we understand the language around us), and language used to initiate, maintain and engage in social interactions).

Why might you consider Speech/Language Therapy?

Regarding Speech Sounds/Intelligibility: It can be very frustrating for your child, and for you when they are difficult to understand. The evaluation process allows us to see exactly what sounds are not being produced correctly, and we can often see why they are not produced correctly based on patterns or similarities in errors. In addition, sound errors may impact the ability to read and decode these sounds for children in the early stages of literacy.

Regarding Language Concerns: When your child is on the playground, school, or at home, and his/her language (use of appropriate grammar, word order, vocabulary,) is simple when compared to other children his/her age, it might be beneficial to consider a receptive/expressive language assessment. Many times, we feel the children will “grow out of it,” which is sometimes the case. However, there are some children who will require intervention to help with improving the use of language structure, content, and complexity. The sooner these concerns are addressed, the more likely the child will improve. Language concerns also impact reading comprehension, story development, oral language tasks like speaking in front of the class and participating in class discussions.

It Takes Two to Talk®

It Takes Two to Talk® is a family centered early intervention language program for parents and caregivers of young children with language delays. Parent to Child is currently sponsoring an It Takes Two to Talk® program. You can learn more about the It Takes Two to Talk® program on this website. To enroll in the program, please contact us.

A further explanation of Speech/Language Pathology is available at www.asha.org