Speech Therapy

Articulation treatment involves focusing on individual speech sound errors. Therapy examines and treats the client’s oral motor capabilities (placement, strength, range of motion of the articulators (tongue, lips, teeth, etc.) as well as the nasopharyngeal and respiratory support systems. Developmental norms for consonant acquisition, child’s stimulability, and impact on overall intelligibility is considered when establishing goals. Example:  “thumb” ➜ “fum”

Phonological treatment involves predictable, ruled based errors or substitution patterns in speech. Children can exhibit multiple phonological processes. Developmental norms, child’s stimulability, and impact on overall intelligibility is considered when establishing goals. Example:  Final consonant deletion  “toast” ➜ “toas”

Fluency (Stuttering) treatment addresses both the physical and emotional effects of this disorder . There are different types of disfluencies that occur when a child stutters. These include one-syllable word repetitions (i.e., “He, he, he wants), partial word repetitions, (i.e., “P-p-p-please stop it.”), prolonged sounds (i.e., “The sssssssnake is long.”), and blocks or stops (i.e., “He went to (pause) bed.”).  Therapy involves different techniques to help children recognize and modify disfluencies as well as negative attitudes about stuttering. Families can also learn modeling techniques and ways to facilitate a fluent home environment.