Monday, 23 September 2019

Importance of Speech Therapy in Correcting Your Child’s Speech

The importance of ability of expression could not be emphasised more in life. Various factors contribute to speech disabilities in children, reducing their ability of expression at various levels. Based on the severity of the issue, children may find difficulties in pronunciation, rate of speech and even in comprehension at various levels. Speech therapy is the medical solution to address these issues.
Speech therapy specialists, also known as speech or language pathologists, help children in improving their communication, language development, cognitive and pragmatic skill, using medical techniques techniques.

Early intervention of therapy can improve the treatment response significantly. The team of speech therapy that typically consists speech therapy pathologists, physician and the physical therapy specialist. The careful evaluation focuses on finding the speech disorders that include articulation, fluency and resonance disorders.

Also, the evaluation also focuses on language disorders such as receptive, expressive and cognitive communication disorders. In addition, oral feeding disorders also contribute to speech and language issues in children. Based on the findings of the evaluation, the team for speech therapy is formed.

Continue reading the blog to understand the importance of correcting speech disorder in children, that too, in the initial stages.

How to Find if the Therapy is Needed for Your Child?

It is a challenging task to find if there are any speech-related issues in the early stages of childhood. But close observation and a fair bit of awareness on the speech and hearing disorders can help parents to recognize the issue.

The following are the conditions that help you decide if you are in need of consulting a speech pathologist or a rehabilitation specialist.
    • Delay in response time
    • Hoarseness for a long time
    • Articulation issues
    • Finding difficulty in swallowing
    • Cleft lip or cleft palace issues
    • Visible cognitive developmental delays
    • Undergoing traumatic shock or injuries

These are the few situations (but not limited to) you should consult the therapist. The early the detection occurs the better the chances of cure. 
How Speech Therapy Helps?

Based on the evaluation reports, the speech and language therapists follow different set of techniques and strategies.
    • Language Enhancement Techniques - This includes colourful pictures, books, videos and objects. The therapist will interact with the kid by involving them using repetitive and language building exercices. 
    • Sound Production Therapy - The therapist will teach how to pronounce each sound or syllable in the practice sessions. The therapist also help them in correcting their pronunciation that also involve playing activities to make the session more engaging. 
    • Swallowing Therapy - Various exercises are employed which includes tongue, jaw and facial exercises to address the swallowing issues in children. Not just the physical issues but the speech therapists also include the texture and temperature, taste and other elements that encourage the child to swallow better.

Importance of Choosing the Right Speech Pathologist -

Choosing the right speech therapist for improved speaking skills of your child is pivotal. The potential involvement of a speech language therapist can stimulate the speaking ability with the help of continuos trying sessions by the expert.

Parents need to understand the qualification of the specialist and take his/her experience into consideration. Well acclaimed academic qualifications and certifications can help you in finding the right speech rehabilitation specialist in your locality.

The Role of Parents -

The success of a child’s speech therapy is more dependent on the parents than the specialist himself. They need to understand the level of their child’s issue and help the child in practicing the prescribed techniques on a regular basis.

Parents understand the progress of the kid and the direction of the treatment more than anyone else. In fact, they make the therapist understand the progress and whether the therapy is in line with the child’s speech requirement.

Conclusion -

The therapy for improving speech and language skills is time consuming and the improvement is linear. It also takes a lot of effort and dedication, both from the specialist and from the parents. But it all worth it in the end when you could see your child calling you mom or dad.

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