Your child’s kinder teacher expressed concern that your child may have a problem with certain speech or language skills. Or perhaps while talking to your child, you notice 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 and language assessment conducted by a certified speech pathologist can help you determine the nature of your child’s difficulties.

What is Speech Therapy?

For children, speech therapy is the treatment of communication disorders such as speech and / or language delays and disorders, voice disorders or stuttering. A speech delay or disorder refers to a problem with the actual production of sounds, whereas a language delay or disorder refers to a difficulty understanding or putting words together to communicate ideas.

Communication Disorders:

Disorders of communication 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 refer to difficulties producing sounds in syllables or saying words incorrectly to the point that other people can’t understand what’s being said.
  • Fluency disorders refer to stuttering, the condition in which the flow of speech is interrupted by abnormal stoppages, repetitions (st-st-stuttering), or prolonging sounds and syllables (ssssstuttering).
  • Language disorders can be either receptive or expressive.
  • Resonance or voice disorders refer to 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.

    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.

Speech Pathologists

Speech pathologists 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 Bachelor degree and may be a Member of Speech Pathology Australia.

By assessing the speech, language and play, speech pathologists can determine what types of communication problems exist and the best way to treat these challenges.

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

Remediation

Speech therapy involves having a Speech Pathologist work with a child on a one-to-one basis, or in a small group, to overcome difficulties involved with a specific disorder. Therapy may also include the provision of a home program. Speech therapy works best when parents and the Speech Pathologist form a partnership to practice specific tasks both in the clinic and at home during the week. Speech therapy uses a variety of therapeutic strategies, including:

  • Language Intervention Activities - These exercises involve having a Speech Pathologist interact with a child by playing and talking to him. The therapist may use pictures, books, objects, or ongoing events to stimulate language development. The therapist may also model correct pronunciation and use repetition exercises to build speech and language skills. Language therapy for young children is often done in groups, where parents are taught techniques and the Speech Pathologist helps parents learn to use these techniques.
  • Articulation Therapy - Articulation, or sound production, exercises involve having the therapist model correct sounds and syllables for a child, often during play activities. The level of play is age-appropriate and related to the child’s specific needs. Articulation therapy involves physically showing a child how to make certain sounds, such as the “k” sound. A Speech Pathologist may demonstrate how a child should move his tongue to produce specific sounds, use their hands to manipulate the child’s mouth into the correct position and provide the child with feed-back on how they are going.

When Is Therapy Needed?

Children require speech therapy for a variety of reasons including:

  • hearing impairments
  • cognitive (intellectual; thinking) or other developmental delays
  • weak oral muscles
  • birth defects such as cleft lip or cleft palate
  • autism
  • motor planning problems
  • respiratory problems (breathing disorders)
  • swallowing disorders
  • traumatic brain injury
  • communication delays/disorders

Therapy should begin as soon as possible. Children enrolled in therapy early in their development (younger than 3 years) tend to have better outcomes than children who begin therapy later. This does not mean that older children can’t make progress in therapy; they may progress at a slower rate because they often have learned patterns that need to be modified or changed.

Finding Care for Your Child

For children under school age within the City of Boroondara, speech therapy can be accessed through Inner East Community Health Service. If a child has a diagnosis (eg: Autism, global developmental delay) they are best serviced by an early intervention agency, such as St. Paul’s Early Intervention Program, (telephone: 9853 2188). For older children parents need to contact their primary school to ask for a Speech Pathologist assessment or seek an assessment from a private Speech Pathologist. Refer to listings in the Yellow Pages or via Speech Pathology Australia’s website www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au.

Helping Your Child

Speech Pathologists agree that parental involvement is crucial to the success of a child’s progress in speech or language therapy.

Parents are an extremely important part of their child’s therapy program. Parents help determine whether their child’s experience in speech therapy is a success. Children who make progress most quickly and with lasting results are those whose parents have been involved. It is very important that parents help their child use the stimulation activities that their Speech Pathologist suggests at home to ensure continued progress and carry-over of newly learned skills.

Ask your child’s therapist for suggestions on how you can help your child, such as performing home practice tasks with him at home. The process of overcoming a speech or language delay or disorder may take some time and effort, so it’s important that all family members be patient and understanding with the child.

For information on children's speech and language development refer to Speech Pathology Australia's web site:
www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/content.aspx?p=42 or please telephone 9420 9118.