Why consult a speech language pathologist?
Your child’s pediatrician has recommended that your child’s speech and language skills be evaluated.
Your child’s teacher is concerned that your child’s speech skills aren’t where they should be for her age.
You’ve noticed that your child language skills aren’t as developed as those of children of the same age.
Your child doesn’t seem to be listening to what you say.
Though your child talks a lot, you don’t understand most of what he says.
You child doesn’t follow even very simple directions. Your child doesn’t answer questions like other kids the same age.
Because your child may benefit from speech language therapy
Communication can be difficult for some children.
Communication is listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Communication problems affect all ages and may take many forms.
Speech therapy can have a positive and significant impact on a child’s life – it can enhance her ability to communicate effectively and minimize the potential for difficulties later on.
Signs of communication problems ….
trouble pronouncing words correctly, not understanding what is said, not understanding what is read, not finding the right words to say what one mean, struggling to write thoughts on paper, difficulty projecting one’s voice, not remembering directions.
The causes for speech and language difficulties are not always obvious. However, a speech language pathologist will be able to shed light on your child’s particular issue and provide recommendations for improving your child’s communication skills.
What is a speech language pathologist?
Speech language pathology is the discipline that evaluates and treats individuals who have difficulties communicating and swallowing.
Speech language pathologists, (SLP) also called speech therapists, are specialists educated and trained to evaluate and treat persons with disorders that affect their speech, language, voice, fluency, cognition and swallowing.
An SLP can help a child who cannot produce speech sounds clearly, has trouble understanding and using language, has difficulty reading and writing, has difficulties with attention, social skills, memory and problem solving.
In an assessment…
a SLP will use the child’s reported developmental history, standardized tests, reports from other professionals and observation to determine the nature and severity of the delay or disorder.
An SLP may refer for additional testing to other professionals, such as developmental pediatricians, neurologists, ENTs audiologists or psychologists.
A treatment plan …
will be created to meet the needs of the child. It may include exercises to improve the placement of the muscles involved in the production of speech speech; exercises to enhance voice production; tasks to further develop language comprehension and expression; exercises to improve thinking, memory, reading decoding, reading fluency, reading comprehension and writing skills; educating parents; and referrals to other specialists if necessary.
Therapy procedures…
may include a phonetic placement approach to improve speech sound production; exercises to enhance voice production; tasks to further develop listening skills; activities to enhance language comprehension and expression; cognitive exercises to improve thinking and memory; phonological awareness exercises to improve reading decoding; activities to improve writing skills; activities to enhance play skills and hence cognition.
Why consider online speech therapy?
When you cannot find an SLP, there’s no availability, parents need the convenience of staying in their homes, travel to appointments are cumbersome, international families cannot find therapy in their locale.
Why choose Canto Speech Therapy Online?
Canto was one of the first providers of online speech language pathology services. Well established and trusted, Canto continues to be the provider of choice for the expat community and international families worldwide.
With over to ten years of online experience and over twenty of traditional "table-top" therapy, our experienced and certified speech language pathologists remain passionate about serving and supporting families and their children.