Speech Therapy
Pediatric speech and language therapy aims to prevent, assess, diagnose, and treat speech, language, social communication, cognitive-communication, literacy, and swallowing disorders in children & young adults. Speech language therapy aims to help children effectively communicate in their homes, schools, and communities. Click here to learn more about feeding and swallowing therapy.
Are you a pediatrician? Download our handout on when to refer to pediatric speech and language therapy!
Expressive language disorders can impact the form (grammar), content (semantics), or use (pragmatics) of language in a functional way. Expressive language disorders may impact sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings via spoken or written language.
Children with expressive language difficulties may not produce words by 15 months or may not put words together by 2 years.
Children with expressive language difficulties may not produce words by 15 months or may not put words together by 2 years.
Receptive language disorders may involve one's ability to understand the form, content, or use of language in a functional way. A receptive language disorder may impact a person's ability to understand others.
Children with receptive language disorders may not identify common objects when asked or may not follow simple routine directions when asked.
Children with receptive language disorders may not identify common objects when asked or may not follow simple routine directions when asked.
Articulation is accurately producing the various sounds that make up a language.
Children and adults with articulation challenges may find it difficult to be understood.
Children and adults with articulation challenges may find it difficult to be understood.
Fluency skills refer to producing speech in a smooth and easy flowing manner.
Children and adults with fluency difficulties (i.e., stuttering or cluttering) will have an interruption in the flow of speaking . This may be atypical rate, rhythm, and disfluencies.
Children and adults with fluency difficulties (i.e., stuttering or cluttering) will have an interruption in the flow of speaking . This may be atypical rate, rhythm, and disfluencies.
Voice skills include producing speech with normal pitch, loudness, and vocal quality.
Children and adults with voice disorders may have chronic gravelly, scratchy, hoarse, or breathy sounding voices.
Children and adults with voice disorders may have chronic gravelly, scratchy, hoarse, or breathy sounding voices.
Literacy and reading skills refer to understanding the written word. Addressing literacy and reading in therapy helps to develop decoding, reading comprehension, and reading fluency skills.
Children and adults with literacy or reading challenges may be reading below grade level and may avoid reading.
Children and adults with literacy or reading challenges may be reading below grade level and may avoid reading.
Social communication refers to using and identifying verbal and non-verbal communication.
Children and adults with social-communication difficulties may have difficulties greeting, commenting, asking questions, talking in ways that suit the setting, and following the rules of conversation (i.e. the back and forth).
Children and adults with social-communication difficulties may have difficulties greeting, commenting, asking questions, talking in ways that suit the setting, and following the rules of conversation (i.e. the back and forth).
Cognitive communication refers to organizing thoughts, paying attention, remembering, planning, and/or problem solving. This can impact thought organization during spoken or written language.
Children and adults with cognitive-communication difficulties may have a hard time organizing their thoughts well enough to logically present their ideas via spoken or written language.
Children and adults with cognitive-communication difficulties may have a hard time organizing their thoughts well enough to logically present their ideas via spoken or written language.