Speech Therapy

Speech Problem When a person is unable to produce speech sounds correctly or fluently, or has problems with his or her voice, then he or she has a speech disorder and required Speech Therapy. 

Language Problem People may have trouble understanding language (receptive language) or talking (expressive language). They need Speech Therapy.

Speech therapy treatment to improve the speech language of children who have difficulty in learning to speak, for example because of partial deafness or brain damage or to help restore the power of speech to child or adults  who have lost it or partly lost it through accident or illness is called speech therapy.

In a recent parent-teacher conference, maybe the teacher expressed concern that your child could have a problem with certain speech or language skills. Or perhaps while talking to your child, you noticed an occasional stutter.

Could your child have a problem? And if so, what should you do?

It's wise to intervene quickly. An evaluation by a certified speech-language pathologist can help find out if your child is having problems. Speech-language therapy is the treatment for most kids with speech and/or language disorders.

When Is Therapy Needed?

Kids might need speech-language therapy for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to:

• hearing impairments
• cognitive (intellectual, thinking) or other developmental delays
• weak oral muscles
• chronic hoarseness
• birth defects such as cleft lip or cleft palate.
• motor planning problems
• articulation problems
• fluency disorders
• respiratory problems (breathing disorders)
• feeding and swallowing disorders
• traumatic brain injury
• Autism
• Cerebral Palsy
• Down Syndrome
• Aphasia
• Dysphasia
• Misarticulation
• Swallowing Difficulties.

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.