Speech therapy for preschoolers can be a way for parents and caregivers to address a variety of concerns. Some children may have difficulty expressing themselves, which can impact their ability to communicate effectively with others. Other kids may be at risk of developing speech problems due to being born prematurely or having hearing loss. If your child is struggling with communication skills, it may be time to consider getting them some help.
Most preschoolers need speech therapy because they are trying to learn how to listen, speak and understand language before they can talk on their own. This process takes time and practice, but there are some things you can do at home that will help your child develop better communication skills.
Speech therapy refers to treatment designed specifically for children who have difficulty expressing themselves using words or even gestures (such as pointing). Speech therapists work with kids on everything from basic sounds like “ma” and “ba” all the way up through more complicated ones like “shh” (which is used when you want someone else not to talk). They also teach children about facial expressions that convey emotions such as happiness, sadness, anger and fear so they can better express themselves nonverbally too.
Children are seen by a graduate student under the supervision of a licensed speech-language pathologist. Every child must first be screened by our faculty and graduate students before being admitted into the program.
The screening takes about an hour, and provides an initial assessment of your child’s ability to speak, understand, and use language. It also helps us determine whether or not your child would benefit from additional therapy services.
Communication is more than just talking. It’s also the way we listen, show our emotions, and interact with others. It is vital to our ability to form relationships, get an education, and perform many everyday tasks that other people take for granted.
Speech therapy for kids involves a speech therapist working with your child, one-on-one, on a specialized program designed to help them learn how to say certain sounds correctly. It can also involve you learning how to help your child practice the skills they’re learning at home. When you’re looking into speech therapy for kids, you might hear it called many different names: pediatric speech therapy, speech and language therapy, or speech therapy for preschoolers.
Speech therapy helps children with articulation issues learn how to pronounce sounds correctly so that others better understand them—and so that they feel better about using their voice.
Your child’s preschool teacher has noticed that your toddler is starting to have fewer words and has cut back on her talking. She might be speaking fewer words, but no one can deny she’s extremely bright.
Your child is not just learning speech and language, she’s learning to communicate in the most important ways: with friends, at home, and on the playground. She’s coming into school understanding what it means to speak, and she’s excited to practice at home and in the classroom.
But when you talk to her, she only talks about the baby (or puppy) in the playpen or how high her swing goes or how her sister’s head scrunches up like a crinkled piece of paper whenever she laughs. Instead of talking about things that are interesting to her, she speaks more about things that are interesting to others—like baby animals.