Therapy sessions are a time for the speech-language pathologist to use specific strategies, based on the child’s specific needs, to help grow his or her communication skills. This may look very different depending on the child’s age and abilities.
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First, a speech-language pathologist (SLP) will evaluate your child. The SLP will talk with you and your child to learn about his or her communication skills. Then, he or she will watch your child talk and play during a therapy session. If your child is old enough, the SLP may ask him or her questions about school and home life. This evaluation helps the SLP decide what kind of help your child needs. The SLP will use this information to create an individual treatment plan for your child.
The second step is treatment. Treatment for speech disorders depends on the type and severity of the problem. Your child may need exercises to strengthen weak muscles used for talking. He or she may need practice stringing sounds together into words and sentences. Or he or she may need help learning how to listen and speak in groups, such as in the classroom.
SLPs may also give you tips on how you can help your child at home with activities that target specific goals. For example, if your child has problems pronouncing certain sounds, you may be asked to read books that use those sounds often so he or she can practice them in a fun way outside of therapy sessions.
Speech and language therapy is an intervention that helps children learn how to use words more effectively. The speech-language pathologist (SLP) will work with the child to improve his or her ability to produce sounds, use spoken language to communicate, and/or use written language to express him or herself.
That’s why it’s so important for parents and the SLP to work together, with open communication and respect, to ensure that the child’s goals are being met. The SLP will have experience in working with a wide range of children, but no one knows your child better than you do! By sharing your knowledge and experience, you can help your child get the best therapy possible.
Therapy sessions are a time for the speech-language pathologist to use specific strategies, based on the child’s specific needs, to help grow his or her communication skills. This may look very different depending on the child’s age and abilities.
For example, therapy with a toddler who is learning how to communicate by gestures may involve lots of play and interaction with toys and other objects. The therapist would be looking for opportunities to point out and model new gestures for the child to use, like pointing or nodding “yes” or “no,” perhaps during play. The therapist would then encourage the child to use these gestures to communicate in context with others.
With children who use words, but struggle to best express their wants and needs, therapy might look more like teaching them specific vocabulary words or new ways of describing things. A speech-language pathologist might work with a child on labeling items in the classroom or at home, such as “desk” or “chair”. Sometimes children have trouble using pronouns correctly (e.g., saying “you go” instead of “I go”).