A speech therapist works with children who have developmental or educational difficulties. The speech therapist strives to help a child improve their communication skills, and in some cases, the speech therapist also helps the child learn to use assistive devices. These professionals work with children from infancy through adolescence.
If you suspect that your child has a communication problem, then it may be time to consult with a speech therapist. The most common reason for a parent to seek out a speech therapy is if the parent notices their child is having difficulty communicating or speaking clearly. In other words, the parent may notice that their child is not speaking as well as other children their age.
However, there are many other reasons why you may want to get your child evaluated by a speech therapist. Some of these reasons include difficulty swallowing, difficulty chewing, problems with facial expressions and gestures, drooling excessively and making noises when trying to talk.
Early childhood intervention speech therapy is an essential part of the early childhood intervention process. As a parent, you will be required to choose a speech therapist for your child. It is important that you are aware of the various types of services provided by the therapists.
There are several different types of services offered by speech therapists. Some therapists may provide direct services to children and teenagers who have communication disorders or who suffer from some type of disability.
Speech therapy helps children communicate more effectively. It helps them understand what they hear, say words correctly, and use language to express their needs, thoughts, and ideas. It also helps them build confidence in communicating with others.
Early Childhood Intervention Speech Therapy is a method of early intervention speech therapy, often targeting children with speech and language issues due to difficulties with articulation, phonology, and/or articulatory-phonetic awareness. It is designed for children ages 3 to 36 months, although some programs begin at birth. The most common approach is the Direct Instruction approach, which aims to teach the child how to produce sounds in order to achieve basic communication skills. Early childhood intervention speech therapists may also use other techniques such as positive reinforcement, visual schedules, and modeling.
Early Childhood Intervention Speech Therapy (ECIS) is a method of assessment and intervention that promotes development of speech and language skills in young children by providing tailored, individualized interventions.
ECIS aims to prevent speech and language problems from becoming severe, as well as to help children develop communication skills sooner. Utilizing a variety of approaches, including parent management training, direct instruction, and targeted therapy, ECIS encourages infants and toddlers to recognize their own thoughts and feelings, establish self-understanding, participate in play activities without adult assistance, communicate with others through words and gestures, follow social conventions such as telling time or using pronouns correctly, express feelings verbally through pre-verbal language play, use descriptive language such as “I am sad” or “I like the blue color”, recognize words in context for comprehension purposes (e.g., “I want to go outside”), use expressive language (e.g., by saying words), understand what is said to them (“Where are you going?”), make sense of what they hear (e.g., “What did he say?”), develop an understanding of cause-and-effect relationships.