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Speech therapy at a Glance

Many people know that speech therapy can help a child say sounds, but a speech therapist actually works on a lot more than just sound production.

Speech therapist treat a variety of disorders at Firefly Therapy Clinic. Some children only have one of the issues described below, while others may have a combination with varying severity. Your Firefly Therapy Clinic speech therapist evaluates all aspects of communication and treats a variety of disorders seen below:

EVALUATION assesses the child’s:

  • Speech/ Articulation, the way we say our speech sounds
  • Receptive Language- difficulty understanding language
  • Expressive Language- difficulty using language
  • Social Pragmatic Language – Social communication; the way we speak to each other
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
  • Apraxia of Speech-difficulty planning and coordinating the movements needed to make speech sounds
  • Dysarthria
  • Auditory Processing Disorder
  • Phonological Disorder-The speech patterns we use
  • Cognitive, Executive Function disorder-problem solving thinking, memory, attention
  • Pre-linguistic- (pre-verbal) skills.
  • Oral/Feeding Disorders- oral aversion, failure to thrive, g-tube dependency, difficulty chewing and swallowing, difficulty moving to solids.
  • Cleft craniofacial anomalies
  • Fluency-stuttering
  • Voice disorders- problems with the way the voices sounds, such as hoarseness
  • Literacy disorders of reading and writing
  • Central Auditory Processing
  • Deafness/Hearing Loss – loss of hearing; In the case of children with cochlear implants or those that benefit from hearing aids, therapy includes aural/oral (re)habilitation or Auditory Verbal Therapy (AVT) and in the case of late amplification or limited benefit from hearing aids, therapy includes developing lip reading, speech, and /or alternative communication systems.
  • Oral-Motor Disorders- weak tongue, oral musculature, and/or lip muscles

 

THERAPY

Speech Therapy combines the use of play based services for younger children, and drill or child led therapy for older children. Speech therapy is especially beneficial when kids begin early in life. SLP’s may help your child build skills by working with them one on one, with caregiver, or in small groups. Your SLP will collaborate and help coach parents, care givers, teachers, doctors and community programs.

 

Children may benefit from speech therapy for a variety of reasons, for example….

  • My 18 month old daughter isn’t saying single words yet. She doesn’t seem interested in communicating with our family.
  • My 8 month old is having trouble eating solids, and will cough and gag when I feed him.
  • My 15 month old isn’t engaging with us socially, and will never look us in the eyes. He does not babble or make sounds.
  • My son’s classroom teacher mentioned concerns about his ability to understand and follow directions similar to his peers. He often needs to hear multiple repetitions of the direction.
  • I have difficulty understanding what my 4 year old is saying. He is beginning to get frustrated when I don’t understand.
  • My 4 year old has Autism, and needs help building his social skills so he can communicate with his peers.
  • My 6 year old daughter is not able to verbally speak. I would like to explore other options for her to communicate, such as sign language or a communication device.
  • My daughter is constantly drooling and doesn’t seem to know how to chew her food properly. I am worried that she doesn’t have very good oral motor skills.
  • My 10 year old son doesn’t know how to interact with his peers at school. He is having difficulty making and keeping friends because of this.
  • My 12 year old daughter recently experienced a fall resulting in a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Now she is having difficulty expressing herself and understanding what we say.
  • My 5 year old son is starting to stutter and I am worried because his uncle is a person who stutters.
  • My child’s voice constantly sounds hoarse and she has difficulty using a louder voice volume to be understood by others.
  • My son doesn’t have a diagnosis, but seems to be having difficulty meeting his developmental milestones.
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