Speech Therapy

Discover why speech therapy is critical for your child.

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs), often informally known as speech therapists, are professionals educated in the study of human communication, its development, and its disorders.  A speech disorder refers to a problem with the actual production of sounds. A language disorder refers to a problem understanding or putting words together to communicate ideas.

Speech/language disorders include:

• Difficulties understanding or processing language.
• Difficulty putting words together, limited vocabulary, or inability to use language in a socially
• Difficulty with communication skills that involve memory, cognition, and problem solving.
• Difficulty with eating or drinking, including problems with chewing, swallowing, coughing, gagging, and refusing foods.

Language intervention activities

The SLP will interact with a child by playing and talking, using pictures, books, or toys to stimulate language development. The therapist may also model correct vocabulary and grammar and use repetition exercises to build language skills.

Oral-motor/Feeding Therapy

The SLP may use a variety of oral exercises — including facial massage and various tongue, lip, and jaw exercises — to strengthen the muscles of the mouth for eating and drinking. The SLP may also introduce different food textures and temperatures to increase a child’s oral awareness while eating.

We treat a variety of communication disorders such as:

• apraxia of speech
• articulation
• auditory processing
• developmental speech/language delays
• dysarthria
• feeding difficulties
• language disorders
• voice disorders

Therapy should begin as soon as possible. Children enrolled in therapy early (before they’re 5 years old) tend to have better outcomes than those who begin therapy later. This does not mean that older kids can’t make progress in therapy; they may progress at a slower rate because they often have learned patterns that need to be changed.

Adults

We also treat adults with various speech and language disorders related to stroke or traumatic brain injury.