How Speech Therapy Works

At a Glance:

• If your child has speech issues or language problems such as dyspraxia or dyslexia, he or she can be assisted by a speech therapist.
  A speech therapist is required to have at least a master's degree as well as a practice license.
  With the help of speech therapy, you will be able to see an improvement in terms your child's language problems.
• To some people, if their child is having difficulties spelling and reading, children's speech therapy in Suwanee and John's Creek may not look like the best solution. The reason for this is that they are under the impression that a speech therapist is someone who helps only those who have difficulties making sounds (articulation) and those who lisp or stutter.
• However, even though they do work with people who suffer with those problems, they are also there to assist children with various other issues as well, such as auditory processing disorder, dyspraxia and dyslexia. Actually, to be more accurate a speech therapist is referred to as a speech-language pathologist (SLP).SLPs find out the type of language problem that a child has. They make a determination as to the cause of the problem and offer you the best treatment option. These experts can assist children to develop skills through working with them in the classroom, in small groups or one-on-one.

SLPs can help with:

Articulation issues: Unable to speak clearly and making mistakes in sounds.
Fluency issues: Difficulties with the flow of speech, for instance stuttering.
Resonance or voice issues: Difficulties with voice pitch, quality and volume.
Oral feeding issues: Trouble eating, swallowing as well as drooling.

SLPs can help treat:

Receptive language issues: Difficulties receiving (understanding) language.
Expressive language issues: Difficulties expressing (speaking) language.
Pragmatic language issues: Difficulties making use of language in a way that is socially proper.
The experts at children's speech therapy in Suwanee and Johns Creek make use of strategies tailor-made for every child's specific problem. These strategies can include:

Language intervention activities: they are meant to develop skills in a number of ways, like modeling and giving the children feedback. A therapist can make use of books and pictures, as well as play-based therapy.
She can also make use of language drills to practice skills.

Articulation therapy:

The therapist models the sounds which the kid is having problems with. This can include showing the child how to move his tongue in order to create certain sounds.

Feeding and swallowing therapy: SLPs teach the kid exercises that help to toughen the muscles of the mouth. This can include facial massages and different lip, jaw and tongue exercises. She can also make use of various food textures to motivate eating and swallowing.

Speech therapists are required to have a master's degree in the speech-language pathology field. Make sure that you opt for someone who is a participant of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). If she is a member, it means that she passed a national exam for certification.

Licensing requirements are different depending on which state you are from. In some cases, a speech assistant, one who has an associate's or bachelor's degree in speech-language pathology, can assist a speech therapist with services.

The Advantages of Speech Therapy

Children's speech therapy in Suwanee and John's Creek can assist children to learn to speak more clearly. The result is that they will have more confidence and they will feel less frustrated when it comes to communicating with others.

Those children with language problems will benefit emotionally, academically and socially from speech therapy.

Kids with reading difficulties like dyslexia will benefit from speech therapy as it can assist them to hear and differentiate particular sounds in words. This can enhance reading comprehension skills and motivate them to read. This therapy is more beneficial if it's started when the kids are very young.

Results You Can Expect From Speech Therapy

Sessions with a therapist can last for some time; from months to a few years. This largely depends on the needs of the child. It is important to remember that although speech therapy is very helpful, it will not cure the child. The underlying problem will remain.

One of the duties of the therapist is to give the child strategies on how to handle hindrances more effectively. She might give the parent or guardian activities to do at home so as to strengthen the skills the child will be learning. It is necessary to ensure that your child and the therapist are a perfect match.

The therapist must have the necessary expertise and experience working with children with your child's particular problem. Speech therapy is one of the ways that can help a child with learning problems related to speech and language. There are other special services you can look into.

KIDZ also provides Pediatric Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and more.

KIDZ PEDIATRIC OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

Our Pediatric Occupational Therapy is designed to deliver functional skills to increase independence in their the home, school, and community. Our therapy programs are based around upper extremity functioning, fine and visual motor skills, and sensory motor integration.

Splinting evaluations and custom splints are available for patients who need them.

Common conditions we treat include:

• Developmental Delay
• Post Trauma or Post Upper Extremity Surgery
• Neurological impairments due to cerebral palsy or chromosomal anomalies
• Autism
• Sensory Processing Disorder
• Our treatments include:
• Motor Control and Motor Learning
• Sensory Integration and Sensory Stimulation
• Therapeutic Listening
• Handwriting without Tears®
• Neurodevelopmental Treatment
• Manual TherapG