What is it and why is it needed?

The goal of Pediatric Speech Therapy is to develop communication skills and social abilities in children by honing their speech and language through verbal, and non-verbal communication. Difficulties communicating effectively can be frustrating to children and can result in behavioral, social, adaptive, and emotional issues that may not be seen as directly related to speech and language skills.

Addressing speech and language delays early is essential.

Effectively communicating through signed or spoken word, and being able to understand the communication of others is vital. Much of the language we learn and use is built prior to 3rd grade, and a large amount established before the child turns 5 years old.

It is never too late to correct speech, verbal or non-verbal communication. Our pediatric speech therapists can help your child, teen, or young adult establish a successful speech foundation.

Here are the common areas of need that our Pediatric Speech Therapists address…

• Apraxia of speech — a disorder causing limited and difficulty speech

• Articulation and phonological disorders — cause difficulty producing sounds

• Auditory processing disorders

• Autism spectrum disorders — can cause difficulties with social communication and behavior

• Cognitive and attention impairments

• Craniofacial abnormalities — includes cleft lip and palate

• Delayed speech milestones

• Difficulty with reading, writing, spelling

• Feeding

• Fluency disorders — such as stuttering

• Genetic syndromes — such as Down syndrome (which can cause developmental and intellectual delays)

• Hearing impairments

• Listening skills

• Neurological disorders — includes cerebral palsy, stroke and traumatic brain injury

• Reasoning and memory skills

• Receptive and expressive language disorders

• Social pragmatic communication disorders

Our Pediatric Speech Therapists utilize one of the most effective forms of treatment for children, play therapy.

Essentially, the therapist incorporates play into each purposeful activity or intervention used during the session. Children often don’t even realize that they have been working on their feeding skills, speech sound production, listening, reading or writing skills, and more during the sessions.

That is the power of integrating something children naturally enjoy doing to help them achieve and exceed developmental milestones.