Photo by Tom Morgan
For all you Special Needs Parents out there, let’s take a quick look at defining Speech Therapy in terms of our kids. We’ll be looking at other kinds of therapies later down the road as well.
WHAT
From MedicineNet.com:
The treatment of speech and communication disorders. The approach used depends on the disorder. It may include physical exercises to strengthen the muscles used in speech (oral-motor work), speech drills to improve clarity, or sound production practice to improve articulation.
In layman’s terms… It’s a therapy for to help your kids communicate verbally – whether it’s actual speaking issues, vocabulary, or actually physically being able to make certain sounds.
WHO
Speech Therapists, aka Speech-Language Pathologists, assess, diagnose, and treat issues pertaining to speech. The usual credential is a Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology, and they are licensed by the state, with requirements in terms of exams and credentialing clinic hours.
You can find a Speech Therapist through your doctor’s referral, or your insurance company if you have one. You can also search through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s website as well as their state database.
WHERE
The therapies can be done in the home, clinics, doctor’s offices, rehabilitation centers, schools, hospices etc. That is determined by the needs of your child, his or her therapeutic plan, and the physical limitations of the therapist or the actual therapies. It does need to be done in a calm quiet atmosphere as a lot of concentration in required from both the child and the therapist.
WHY
Perhaps your child is developmentally behind, and never learned how to mobilize their mouth and vocal cords to communicate. Perhaps your child has had an accident that effected their body, and need to relearn how to talk. Perhaps your child has a medical condition that effects their nervous system, or neurologically, and they have to learn or relearn how to use their mouth and vocal cords. Some children are developmentally delayed so that they have to learn how to swallow, and place their tongue just so in order to make the sounds come out that they need. The therapy is geared to assessing the obstacle, and then removing it, or working through it.
HOW
As with most therapies, there is a whole host of tools in the speech therapist’s toolbox. There are lots of games and activities that require the remembering and pointing out of sounds and such. Activities where the child repeats sounds pointed out to them, or through mimicry. Therapists may use physical techniques, such as placing the child’s hands on their throat to feel the vibrations of the sounds the therapist is making. What techniques are used will, of course, depend on your child’s own situation.
The goal of speech therapy is to give your child help in communicating themselves to the outside world.
Found “unique” by all who know her, you can find Michele at her blog, Sparks and Butterflies, or at her business Vineyard Virtual Services.
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My son is in speech therapy once a week at our local public school, even though he is not yet old enough to start kindergarten. I have really been impressed with how quickly he has progressed since he began.
One piece of advice: you must consistently practice with your child the lessons they are learning at speech therapy. Not all the time — just 5 minutes a day or so, and also in casual conversation focusing on what they are focusing on in the classroom. (Do not over correct though, or they get frustrated.)
When we got busy over the holidays and did not do this, he did not progress as much as before. We are trying to get back in the swing of things now to get back on track.
I came over from SITS. Great site, very informative! I will be back! My daughter is in speech therapy – once a week through the public school system, and an additional 2 times through a private speech pathalogist. It is a wonderful, wonderful thing. I am amazed at how well Reilly has progressed. with hard work, and lots of patience, I hope to get her on the right track. She also has Cystic Fibrosis, so this in not our only struggle. Thanks for blogging about this!
speech therapy is also for special kiddos who will never verbally speak, like my son, but who need to learn to communicate. this can be accomplished thru PECS, sign language, and assisted tech. my son uses a combination of these. he gets speech thru school 2x a week.
otherwise, great post.
My son recieves speech therapy at home, but has made little progress. We are integrating sign language and PECS as well. He’s not quite two, so the therapist comes to our home. The “alternate communications” – signs and cards – have helped a lot, too!