Speech and Language Therapy
Speech and language therapy is done to help your child improve their skills to an age-appropriate level. Therapy is based on the information obtained from a speech and language evaluation. Goals are selected to help achieve success through a carefully designed sequence of activities. Your child learns new skills that can help change the behavior that interferes with normal communication. At times, children re-learn skills that were lost due to an accident or injury. Children learn best in a warm, supportive environment that incorporates games and rewards.
At CSLA, we see our pediatric clients for two 30-minutes sessions per week. The length and amount of therapy depends on the child’s age, and the nature of the problem. The severity of the communication problem is an important factor as well. Most commonly, young children are seen twice weekly for thirty minute sessions. Consultation with the speech language pathologist is recommended to determine what will be most beneficial for the child. Certain types of speech disorders do require more intense intervention. The more serious the disorder, the longer therapy generally takes. Therapy is a process and some children make immediate improvement while others show slow, steady improvement. Every child is different so the rate and pattern of progress is completely dependent on the child.
Parental involvement in the therapy process is highly encouraged, however therapy is conducted one on one with the child. The speech language pathologist consults with parents on an ongoing basis in regards to their child’s progress. Parental training of techniques used in therapy can improve a child’s overall success and allow the child to continue practice of skills learned in therapy outside the treatment sessions.