Speech Disorder Therapy

At Speech-Language Development, we are a private practice designed to assist in improving speech and language in children. Speech problems in children can include language development, oral-motor function, articulation, phonological disorders, language learning disability, and voice issues. As a speech-language pathologist, we will individually assess and treat each patient. Our speech disorder therapy helps appropriately… Continue reading Speech Disorder Therapy

Incentive Charts

I wanted to share an interesting technique to facilitate motivation in students in the school and in the home.  This technique helps with not only organization but aids in promoting focus in youngsters.  It also aids in generalizing speech techniques for fluency issues such as cluttering; for children who are generalizing sounds to spontaneous speech;… Continue reading Incentive Charts

Words 2-year-old be able to say?

How many words should my 2-year-old be able to say? Around their second birthday, many children begin to acquire words at breakneck speed, a phenomenon experts call the naming explosion. Most 2-year-olds can say about 100 words. By the time your toddler is 2 1/2, she’ll probably know close to 300. But not all children… Continue reading Words 2-year-old be able to say?

Letting a toddler watch videos.

Sometimes when parents are busy, they let their toddlers watch videos. Can this help their language development? It probably won’t hurt, but TV and videos are poor substitutes for a parent’s involvement. Watching TV is a passive activity. Activities such as speaking to your child, reading to her, and labeling objects are better ways to… Continue reading Letting a toddler watch videos.

8 year-old boy with a cluttering issue

I have been working with an 8 year-old boy in a school with a cluttering issue. Cluttering is a fluency disorder, characterized by an irregular speech rate in which the words are condensed and a child speaks with progressively increased speech rate. Cluttering is also characterized by the initial loud voice that trails off to… Continue reading 8 year-old boy with a cluttering issue

Methods of assessment

There are separate standardized assessment tools administered for infants, school-aged children, adolescents and adults. Assessments primarily examine the form, content, understanding and use of language, as well as articulation, and phonology. Oral motor and swallowing assessments often require specialized training. These include the use of bedside examination tools and endoscopic/modified barium radiology procedures. Individuals may… Continue reading Methods of assessment

Professional roles

Speech-language pathologists serve individuals, families, groups, and the general public through a broad range of professional activities. They: Identify, define, and diagnose disorders of human communication and swallowing and assist in localization and diagnosis of diseases and conditions. Provide direct services using a variety of service delivery models to treat and/or address communication, swallowing, or… Continue reading Professional roles

Scope of practice

The practice of speech-language pathology involves: Providing prevention, screening, consultation, assessment and diagnosis, treatment, intervention, management, counseling, and follow-up services for disorders of: Establishing augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) techniques and strategies including developing, selecting, and prescribing of such systems and devices (e.g., speech generating devices.) speech (i.e., phonation, articulation, fluency, resonance, and voice including… Continue reading Scope of practice

A Day in a Speech Pathologist’s Life

On a typical day a speech pathologist will: use written and oral tests, as well as special instruments, to diagnose the nature and extent of impairment and to record and analyze speech, language, and swallowing irregularities; develop an individualized plan of care tailored to each patient’s needs; select augmentative or alternative communication methods, including automated… Continue reading A Day in a Speech Pathologist’s Life

Nature of the Work

Speech-language pathologists, sometimes called speech therapists, assess, diagnose, treat, and help to prevent disorders related to speech, language, cognitive-communication, voice, swallowing, and fluency. Speech-language pathologists work with people who cannot produce speech sounds or cannot produce them clearly; those with speech rhythm and fluency problems, such as stuttering; people with voice disorders, such as inappropriate… Continue reading Nature of the Work