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What is a
Speech-Language Disorder?
 Speech
and language disorders describe children whose
speech and language is developing abnormally. A
speech and language delay describes a child whose
skills are developing according to typical
developmental milestones, but at a slower rate than
normal.
Speech
and language problems, if left untreated, will
affect your child’s emotional development,
conceptual knowledge development and social
interactions with peers and adults. If individuals
are not given a chance to communicate their wants
and needs, they may develop some "inappropriate
behaviors." Behavior, whether appropriate or not, is
a form of communication!
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What is
Speech-Language Therapy?
Speech and language disorders refer to
problems in communication and related areas
such as oral motor function. These delays
and disorders range from simple sound
substitutions to the inability to understand
or use language or use the oral-motor
mechanism for functional speech, safe
swallowing and feeding.
Some causes of
speech and language disorders include
hearing loss, neurological disorders, brain
injury, mental retardation, drug abuse,
physical impairments such as cleft lip or
palate, and vocal abuse or misuse.
Frequently, however, the cause is unknown. |
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A child's communication is considered
delayed when the child is noticeably behind
his or her peers in the acquisition of
speech and/or language skills. Sometimes a
child will have greater receptive
(understanding) than expressive (speaking)
language skills, but this is not always the
case.
Our staff includes nationally certified
Speech Language Pathologists who diagnosis
and treat oral motor dysfunction, swallowing
and communication disorders. |
Speech Therapy services provided include:
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Delayed in speech-language developmental milestones
• History of ear infections
• Cleft Lip and Palate
• Cerebral Palsy
• Congenital Birth Defects
• Down’s syndrome
• Veral and/or Oral Apraxia (motor planning of
speech)
• Dysarthria (Slurred Speech due to muscle weakness)
• Difficulty with feeding followed by coughing,
choking or frequent
clearing of throat
• Dysphagia (swallowing) problems
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Show no reaction to sound.
• Hearing impairments
• Has nonverbal communication
• History of neurological event such as seizures,
stroke, Concussions
• Speech being difficult to understand?
• Tongue thrust
• Sound hyper/hypo nasal
• Experiences frustration when trying to tell you
something often
times resulting in appropriate behaviors
• Raspy hoarse vocal quality
• Vocal fold dysfunction
• Limited expressive vocabulary
• Difficulty with interacting with kids of their own
age
• Difficulty with critical thinking and problem
solving
• Inappropriate behaviors due to miscommunications
or inability to
be understood
• Literal “black and white” thinker
• Short term memory problems
• Stuttering
• Unable to put ideas in written expression
• Problems with spelling
• Poor Reading comprehension
• Poor Word Decoding
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