Pediatric Speech Language Therapy

Our state licensed Speech Language Pathologist are trained to evaluate and treat a variety of speech, voice, and language disorders. They can provide evaluation and treatment of expressive and receptive language disorders, communication disorders, articulation and phonological disorders, cognitive skills such as problem solving and reasoning, feeding and swallowing, oral motor skills, augmentative communication, and behavior management.

SPEECH MILESTONES:

By age 1: Recognizes name; Says 2-3 words in addition to "mama" and "dada"; Imitates familiar words; Understands simple instructions; Recognizes words as symbols for objects: (examples) Car- points to garage, cat – meows

Ages 1-2 yrs: Understands "no"; Uses 10 to 20 words including names; Combines two words such as "daddy bye-bye"; Waves good-bye and plays pat-a-cake; Makes the "sounds" of familiar animals; Gives a toy when asked; Uses words such as "more" to make wants known; Points to his or her toes, eyes, and nose; Brings object from another room when asked.

HOW DO I KNOW IF MY CHILD COULD BENEFIT FROM SPEECH THERAPY?

  • Not meeting the expected developmental milestones during the first 15-24 months of life (i.e., cooing, babbling, producing first word(s)
  • Difficulty coordinating and planning oral motor movements (tongue, lips) to formulate sounds/ syllables or have weak oral motor movements (i.e., weak jaw and/or tongue strength)
  • Not putting two words together to produce phrases and short sentences
  • Articulation difficulties where their speech consists of substitutions ( i.e., “f ” for “th,” “w” for “l”), distortions (i.e., the “s” sound may be a lisp or sounds messy), omissions (i.e., the word “cat” is produced “ca.”)
  • Weaknesses in receptive language skills or the ability to understand Language. (includes following simple directions, identifying spatial and temporal concepts, understanding prepositions, identifying antonyms, synonyms, multiple meaning words, etc.)
  • Weaknesses in expressive language skills or the ability to communicate through words, facial expressions, gestures, or other nonverbal forms
  • Difficulties in social situations, such as appropriate turn-taking skills, eye-contact, understanding a communication partner’s feelings, introducing and maintaining a topic, etc.
  • Limited food repertoire or have a food repertoire that is limited to certain textures, such as puree
  • Numerous disfluencies where they may repeat a sound, word, or phrase before completing a sentence
  • Poor vocal quality, such as a hoarse or weak voice as well as vocal nodules