What is speech therapy?

Speech language therapy helps children improve their communication skills. Speech disorders can impact all levels of communication, including a child’s ability to articulate sounds, express information, and speak fluently. By partnering with a speech language pathologist, who can identify your child’s speech disorder, the team at project MIND, Inc., can help determine the appropriate treatment to improve your child’s communication skills.

What does speech therapy treat?

Speech therapy can help improve a wide range of speech disorders, including:

Fluency disorders

Fluency disorders interfere with the flow and speed of speech. Examples of fluency disorders include stuttering and cluttering. While stuttering causes individuals to repeat specific parts of a word, cluttering leads to awkward pauses and cramming in words too quickly.

Articulation disorders

Articulation disorders affect an individual’s ability to pronounce certain word sounds. A child with an articulation disorder may distort, drop, or add in certain sounds when pronouncing a word.

Resonance disorders

Resonance disorders, or voice disorders, affect the pitch or volume of an individual’s speech. These disorders commonly result from blockages in the oral or nasal cavities.

Expressive disorders

Expressive disorders create a divide between what you say and what you mean. Children with expressive disorders struggle to form accurate sentences with correct verb tenses.

Receptive disorders

Difficulty processing language is a telltale sign of a receptive disorder. Commonly seen in children with autism, hearing loss, and Down syndrome, receptive disorders can affect a child’s ability to understand instructions, follow directions, and show interest when communicating with others.

What happens during speech therapy?

Speech therapy for children and adults always begins with a comprehensive assessment. The team at project MIND, Inc., works with speech language pathologists and occupational therapists onsite to ensure your family receives the right care.

Once your child receives an accurate assessment, their speech language pathologist may:

Encourage talk and playModel certain sounds, syllables, and wordsUse books and pictures to encourage speechProvide parents with at-home strategiesAssign homework

For adults with speech disorders, a speech language pathologist may:

• Encourage exercises to strengthen the oral muscles

• Teach breathing exercises

• Use conversation to improve communication with others

• Develop exercises to promote thought organization and word retrieval

• Promote strategies to convey emotion