Speech Therapy for Kids
What is Speech Therapy?
Speech therapy is a service provided by a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) or a licensed Speech Pathologist Assistant (SLP-A) under the supervision of an SLP, for individuals who exhibit a speech or language impairment.
A child qualifies for speech therapy after completing an assessment if he or she is suspected of having a significant problem that interferes with school, work, health, and/or their ability to communicate effectively with others.
At Speech Guy® LLC, we follow a strict recipe for success in working with children. Our recipe for success includes quick rapport, skillful and intense treatment, and daily family support via home program exercises. This has amounted to the success and remediation of communication difficulties for many kids.
In finding a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP), it is crucial that you find someone who has a current, valid license to practice. You can verify a Speech-Language Pathologist’s license by going here. Also, look to see if the SLP has his or her Certification of Clinical Competence (CCC). It is also highly recommended that the SLP be affiliated with (i.e. a member of) the American Speech-Language, Hearing Association (ASHA). Though not a requirement to practice, ASHA SLPs are equipped with access to current research, trends, strategies, ethics, and a social network of professionals, which enhances their practice exponentially.
Having served on ASHA’s Multicultural Issues Board, I also know the importance of an SLP being competent to work with clients of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. If your child is exposed to languages other than, or in addition to, English, then it is important that a therapist be able to determine whether a speech/language concern is due to a language “difference” or a language disorder. See the following document on the ASHA website for more information.
Finally, be sure the therapist has knowledge and skills in your area of concern. Speech Guy® LLC has tremendous experience working with kids who have the following concerns/needs:
- Articulation disorders, lisps, oral motor deficits
- Tongue thrust, myofunctional disorders
- Apraxia of speech
- Semantic, syntactic, pragmatic language impairment
- Deficits in grammar, vocabulary, or social skills
- Phonemic awareness, literacy deficits
- Speech delay, early intervention
- Fluency disorders, stuttering, stammering, cluttering
- Voice disorders – difficulties with pitch, loudness, and quality of voice
- Hearing impairment, cochlear implant
- Microtia, aural atresia, microsomia, Goldenhar syndrome
- Cleft lip, cleft palate, resonance disorders
- Autism, PDD, poor joint attention
- Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC)
- Developmental Disorders, Cerebral Palsy
- Apert syndrome, Moebius syndrome, Pierre Robin Sequence, and more…
Call or Email Speech Guy®: 626-823-WORDs – wes@speechguy.org