PEDIATRIC THERAPY



Speech Therapy

What is speech therapy?

Speech therapy is a treatment program used to help children who have trouble with speech. Treatment is provided by a speech therapist, also known as a speech-language pathologist.
There are many different reasons why speech therapy might be needed. In childhood, speech therapy is often used to help children who have:

  1. birth defect problems like cleft palate or cleft lip
  2. delayed speech
  3. hearing problems
  4. stuttering
  5. problems with forming words or sentences
  6. developmental delays
  7. other language problems











When should therapy start?

The earlier speech therapy is started the better. Children who start therapy before age 3 usually improve faster and do better than older children. Older children will still make good progress, but it may be slower because they often have to learn how to change they way they are using speech or language.


What happens during speech therapy?

A speech therapist will test your child and find out the types of speech and language skills that he or she needs to work on. Therapy includes training and repetitive exercises and use of devices that can make it easier for some children to speak. Speech therapists also work closely with the family members who will help care for the person.
The therapist may work one-on-one with your child or in a small group. During therapy your child may do a variety of age-appropriate fun activities.


  1. Language exercises: During these exercises the therapist plays with and talks to your child. The therapist may model the correct way to say words and have your child repeat words and sentences.
  2. Articulation exercises: Articulation means the making of sounds. The therapist will do sound exercises with your child by making the correct sound or syllable of a word for the child to repeat. Your child is shown how to make the sound with his or her mouth and tongue. Your child may use a mirror to watch how the mouth and tongue move to make the correct sound.
  3. Relaxation and breathing exercises: Breathing techniques and relaxation exercises may be done to help your child relax the face and mouth muscles.



















Where and how often will my child have speech therapy?

How often a child has therapy depends on the particular speech problem. Your child may need services two or more times per week.
Speech therapy will be provided in the clinic or day care setting.


How can I help my child?

Helping your child at home is very important. Parents work with the speech therapist to learn the different skills and exercises to practice. Children who complete the program quickly and with the most lasting results are those whose parents have been involved. Overcoming speech and language problems takes time and patience. Ask the therapist what you can do to help at home. Please refer to the Speech and Language Milestones below for more information.



Speech and Language Milestones

Oral language serves as the basis for the development of reading and writing skills.

A child’s control of sounds at the phoneme level is highly predictive of decoding and spelling skills.
Vocabulary knowledge and word retrieval are more predictive of comprehension skills.
A Milestone is what 90% of children are capable of at a given age. Ex. 18 months, Milestone = 10 words
The Average is what 50% of children are capable of at a given age. Ex. 18 months, Average = 50 words
When a child is not meeting a milestone, this is a good reason to see a Speech Language Therapist.
This does not automatically mean that therapy is warranted, but it does mean this is a good time to conduct an evaluation to determine a progressive course of action.
The range between typical and underdeveloped is huge; however, research suggests that early intervention bridges the gap sooner and sets KIDS up for SUCCESS

  1. Infants begin to understand a few familiar words between 6-8 months
  2. 12 months understands 10 words, produces 5 or more, 25% intelligible
  3. 18 months understands 50 words, produces 12-20 words, 50% intelligible
  4. 2yrs understands what and where questions, produces 50-200, 65% intelligible
  5. 3yrs recognizes basic colors, categorizes basic groups, produces 900-1200 words, asks what when and where questions
  6. 4yrs understands 5600 words, produces 1500-1600 words, names primary colors, counts to 5, Uses personal pronouns, negatives, questions, conjunctions, and relative pronouns accurately
  7. 5yrs understands 9600 words, understands temporal concepts, uses before and after; uses yesterday and tomorrow, understands short paragraphs, recognizes some alphabets, produces 2100-2200 words