What are common communication delays and disorders and how can pediatric therapy help?
Defining communication delays and disorders
Do you notice your child mispronouncing words or struggling to put sounds together? Do you or others have a hard time understanding your child’s speech? If so, your child may have a speech delay. As children are learning to talk it is normal for them to use some simplifications of adult speech. It is also normal for them to omit or improperly produce some speech sounds. Learning to talk is complex so different sounds develop at different timelines as children’s oral-motor skills develop. A speech language pathologist can complete an evaluation to determine if the differences in your child’s speech output are developmentally appropriate or if they are considered a delay or disorder.
When these errors are prolonged (lasting beyond the average range of development) or extensive (impacting how well family and friends can understand them) speech therapy may help your child in improving their speech sound production. One of our trained speech pathologists at Pediplay in Indianapolis, IN can complete an evaluation of your child’s speech sound production to determine if your child has a speech sound delay or a speech sound disorder. Speech sound delays are when children are learning the expected sounds in the expected order, just at a slower rate. Speech sound disorders are where difficulties are different than what we see in typical speech development. There are a few different types of speech sound disorders, so identifying the underlying cause of your child’s difficulties is crucial to generating an individualized treatment plan.
Is your child struggling to learn new words? Do they get frustrated when they are unable to communicate their wants and needs with you? Do you notice they are not using the same volume of words or vocabulary as their peers? If so, your child may have a language delay or disorder. There are also differences in how children are developing their communication skills not related to how the speech sound but challenges in their receptive comprehension or verbal and spoken language output they are using. These are considered language delays and disorders. As children are learning to talk there are also milestones for how they should acquire new vocabulary, combining words, and using different forms of communication (like labeling objects or answering questions). One of our trained speech language pathologists at Pediplay would also be able to identify if your child has a language delay or disorder. Much like with speech sound disorders there are different types of language disorders, so identifying the underlying cause of your child’s difficulties is crucial to generating an individualized treatment plan.
Contact us today to set up an appointment with one of our pediatric therapists for your child!
Communication disorders: Common symptoms to look for
Speech Sound disorder symptoms to look for:
- Substituting, adding, or omitting sounds
- Distorting how the sound is produced
- Changes to the rate or rhythm of speech that impacts how well you can understand them
Language disorder symptoms to look for:
- No babbling by 9 months
- No single words by 12 months
- No combining words by 24 months
- No use of gestures
- Not understanding routine directions like “come here” and “sit down” by 12 months
What to expect during pediatric therapy for communication delays and disorders
Evaluation
Communication disorders, including both speech sound disorders and language disorders, are diagnosed and treated according to various factors, such as the severity of the condition and the displayed symptoms. You and your child will visit PediPlay to evaluate your child’s communication after we receive a referral from your pediatrician. During the evaluation appointment, our therapists may look at your child’s:
- Oral mechanisms (mouth, tongue, palate)
- Current speech sound productions
- Speech clarity or intelligibility of speech sounds
- Speed and rhythm of speech
- Vocabulary
- Word combinations or sentence structures
- Communication intents and types of communication used
- Receptive comprehension of language
Sometimes due to rapport building and parent interviews that also occur during the typical evaluation process we may need to continue the evaluation process across multiple sessions. It is our therapist’s goal to provide a thorough evaluation and to share the information they identify each step of the way.
Treatment
Every child uniquely exhibits communication disorders, and no two children or cases are alike. So, our pediatric therapists design a treatment plan tailored to your child’s unique needs and your family’s unique goals.
Some methods that are commonly practiced in therapy include:
- Fun games and speech drills to target difficult sounds
- Building engagement in play and using techniques to support vocabulary learning such as repetition and expectant pausing
- Having the child watch themself speak in a mirror to see how it looks to make certain sounds
- Teaching the child augmentative forms of communication
To help your child communicate, we will provide fun and engaging activities that come from the current research in our field to support your child improve their overall communicative effectiveness. We believe in creating a positive and fun environment for our patients and families where the whole family is a part of our therapy team!
Our specialists are trained to treat these conditions and will teach both you and your child how to carry over the work on speech or language from the clinic into your home environment as well. During treatment, your child’s SLP will work on the goals you all established in the initial evaluation to increase your child’s effective communication skills.
Request an appointment at PediPlay today!
If you feel that your child could benefit from a speech therapy evaluation, please reach out to your doctor to discuss a referral for therapy services. Contact our clinic in Indianapolis, IN for more information or if you have any questions about this process!