HOW DO I KNOW IF MY CHILD NEEDS SPEECH THERAPY?

Careful listeners find it easy to compare children's speech to same-aged peers. It is rare to meet a child referred to our office who does not need speech therapy. However, if you have any questions please use the chart below to evaluate your child's speech and language development. If you are still unsure, call us and Diane would be happy to talk with you.

You can also look at this link to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association for more information about indicators of speech-language delays and difficulties and suggestions for how you can help.

For more information about the stages of development, please visit this link for First Things First resources.

Guideline from "Facilitating Early Language" 

Source: "Facilitating Early Language" Diane Hansen MA CCC-SLP and Sherril Howard MS CCC-SLP, 1992 

SPEECH THERAPY FOR ARTICULATION,  FLUENCY, VOICE AND MORE

Vocal Cord Dysfunction (VCD) or Paradoxical Vocal Cord Motion (PVCM) is a condition in which the vocal cords close together or constrict during inhalation resulting in inspiratory stridor, asthma-like symptoms, habit cough or vocal ticks.  We effectively treat many young people with Vocal Cord Nodules, chronic hoarse voice, force and strain habits. Cleft palate dysfunctions such as velo-pharyngeal disorders and hyper-nasal voice require specific speech therapy techniques and coordination with specialists such as ENT . Other reasons to seek speech therapy may include difficulty with just one speech sound such as "R" or lisp for "S" and "Z".  Therapy for awareness and movement of speech muscles and work with a mirror is often required. Children with stuttering or other fluency disorders, no matter how intermittent, need an evaluation and speech therapy, this could evolve into a bigger issue. Since children on the Autism Spectrum struggle primarily with language development, we are often the first to identify the need for further evaluation.