Speech Therapy
A Speech Therapist (also known as Speech and Language Pathologist or an SLP) diagnoses and treats a variety of speech, language, communication and swallowing disorders.
If a child or adult has difficulty communicating or comprehending speech, nonverbal communication, or written language, or if a child has learning difficulties, he or she may benefit from speech therapy. Feeding difficulties are often treated by a Speech Therapist as well.
Speech Therapy can help with the following areas of speech and language:
- Articulation – the ability to make clear sounds
- Fluency – the flow of speech (an example of dysfluency is a stutter)
- Resonance – refers to the volume and quality of speech as affected by air flow through the oral and nasal cavities
- Recepetive language – the ability to understand/receive language or communication
- Expressive language – the ability to express language/communicate
- Pragmatic language – social language skills such as body language and taking turns in a conversation
Your pediatrician may choose to refer your child for speech therapy if he/sheis diagnosed with:
- Autism
- Cleft lip and palate
- Developmental delays
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- Dyslexia
- Learning disability
- No diagnosis – speech or language delays without a formal diagnosis may still qualify for therapy