Speech therapy is the assessment and treatment of communication problems and speech disorders performed by a Speech Language Pathologist.
Speech therapy techniques are used to improve communication. These include articulation therapy, language intervention activities, and others depending on the type of speech/ language disorder.
Speech therapy may be needed for speech/ language/ social disorders that may develop in childhood.
There are several speech and language disorders that can be treated with speech therapy. The following are treated in our office:
- Articulation disorders. An articulation disorder is the inability to correctly form certain word sounds. A child with this speech disorder may drop, swap, distort, or add word sounds.
- Fluency disorders. A fluency disorder affects the flow, speed, and rhythm of speech. Stuttering and cluttering are types of fluency disorders.
- Receptive disorders. A person with receptive language disorder has trouble understanding/ comprehending and processing what others say. Other language disorders, developmental delay/disorders, and a head injury can lead to a receptive language disorder.
- Expressive disorders. Expressive language disorder is difficulty conveying or expressing information. People with expressive language disorders have trouble forming sentences, using grammatical markers, or tenses appropriately. They may also have a limited vocabulary. Expressive Language disorders are sometimes associated with developmental impairments or can result from head trauma or a medical condition.
- Cognitive-communication disorders. Difficulty communicating because of an injury to the part of the brain that controls your ability to think is referred to as cognitive-communication disorder. Memory issues, problem solving, difficulty listening or speaking can be a result. Causes of cognitive- communication disorders can be biological, such abnormal brain development, certain neurological conditions, a brain injury, or stroke.
- Social communication disorders. People with SCD have trouble communicating in ways that are socially appropriate. They may not follow the rules of spoken communication. They don't always understand the give-and-take of conversation and they often don't understand sarcasm or language that isn't literal. These individuals may have trouble creating friendships/ relationships. Social Communication Disorders are often associated with Autism and other developmental disorders.