Speech-Language Therapy

In a recent parent-teacher conference, your child's teacher expressed concern that your child may have a problem with certain speech or language skills. Or perhaps while talking to your child, you noticed an occasional stutter. You're not sure that your child has a problem - what should you do?

Whatever your particular circumstances, it's wise to intervene quickly. A speech-language evaluation conducted by a certified speech-language pathologist can help you determine the nature of your child's difficulties.

What Is Speech-Language Therapy?

Speech-language therapy is the treatment for most children with speech and/or language disorders. A speech disorder refers to a problem with the actual production of sounds, whereas a language disorder refers to a difficulty understanding or putting words together to communicate ideas.

Speech Disorders and Language Disorders

Speech disorders include the following problems, according to Diane Paul-Brown, PhD, director of clinical issues in speech-language pathology at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA):

• Articulation disorders include difficulties producing sounds in syllables or saying words incorrectly to the point that other people can't understand what's being said.
• Fluency disorders include problems such as stuttering, the condition in which the flow of speech is interrupted by abnormal stoppages, repetitions (st-st-stuttering), or prolonging sounds and syllables (ssssstuttering).
• Resonance or voice disorders include problems with the pitch, volume, or quality of a child's voice that distract listeners from what's being said. These types of disorders may also cause pain or discomfort for the child when speaking.

Language disorders can be either receptive or expressive. Receptive disorders refer to difficulties understanding or processing language. Expressive disorders include difficulty putting words together, limited vocabulary, or inability to use language in a socially appropriate way.

Specialists in Speech-Language Therapy

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs), who are often informally known as speech therapists, are professionals educated in the study of human communication, its development, and its disorders. They hold at least a master's degree and state certification/licensure in the field, as well as a certificate of clinical competency from the American Speech-Hearing-Association.

By assessing the speech, language, cognitive-communication, and swallowing skills of children and adults, speech-language pathologists can determine what types of communication problems exist and the best way to treat these challenges.

Speech-language pathologists typically treat problems in the areas of articulation; dysfluency; oral-motor, speech, and voice; and receptive and expressive language disorders.

Remediation

Speech-language therapy involves having a speech-language specialist work with a child on a one-to-one basis, in a small group or directly in a classroom, to overcome difficulties involved with a specific disorder. Speech-language therapy uses a variety of therapeutic strategies, including: