Children who undergo language development speech therapy Adelaide usually begin treatment as early as possible. It is because kids who are exposed to verbal and nonverbal speech and language from birth tend to do better than those who receive therapy later in life.
The goal of speech-language pathology is to treat disorders of articulation, fluency and resonance (voice/pitch/quality). Speech-language therapy for language also includes pragmatic/social skills and reading/literacy.
Articulation
All the different sounds in the English language require coordination between the muscles of the lips, teeth, tongue, vocal cords, jaw and palate to produce. Children have a natural tendency to produce articulation errors as they learn the different sounds in their early childhood. Some children have difficulty producing the correct sound consistently, which is when they may need intervention from a speech-language pathologist.
The goal of articulation therapy is to improve the clarity and intelligibility of speech. It can be achieved by focusing on specific sounds in isolation or at a word, phrase and narrative/conversation level. Distortions such as a lisp or a rhotacism may also be addressed in articulation therapy using various techniques.
An assessment of the child’s articulation is conducted by recording the child’s speech and listening to the recordings to determine what sounds are difficult to produce. The therapist can then determine if the child has an articulation disorder. The therapist can then develop a treatment plan to target the identified sounds in isolation and within words and phrases, with or without context.
The therapist will monitor progress and modify the targets as needed to ensure that the child is making adequate progress. It is important to note that articulation disorders do not necessarily lead to difficulty in understanding or using language and are different from phonological disorders or stuttering, which also occur within the oral motor component of speech production.
Phonological Awareness
A child’s ability to hear and discriminate between sounds is known as phonological awareness. A delay or disorder in the way a child learns speech sounds may lead to difficulties with phonological awareness. It may result in difficulty blending the sounds to make words and hearing the differences between similar-sounding letters such as ‘k’ and ‘tea’ (or ‘key’ and ‘phone’).
Early intervention with language development speech therapy Adelaide and phonological awareness training has been shown to significantly improve phonological awareness and emergent literacy skills of students with articulation and articulation/phonology disorders. Several studies have demonstrated that instruction in more complex phonemic awareness tasks, such as onset and rhyme or segmenting, produces greater gains than instruction in rhyme or simpler phonological awareness tasks, such as rhyming or blending.
These findings are particularly promising for children with language impairment who are at risk of a reading disability. Evidence suggests that early phonological awareness training can be an important factor in promoting successful literacy acquisition and should, therefore, be included as part of any comprehensive speech-language therapy program.
Pragmatic/Social Skills
While many children pick up on social language skills naturally throughout their childhood, others may need to be explicitly taught these skills. In addition, some people who have speech and language difficulties may find it difficult to use their receptive and expressive language appropriately in different situations. For example, they may struggle with understanding figurative language and idioms used in everyday conversation.
A Speech Language Pathologist can help children with their receptive and expressive language by using therapeutic techniques to teach them new words and concepts as well as teaching them to use their voice to communicate their wants, needs, ideas, thoughts, and opinions with other people. In addition, an SLP can help children develop their articulation skills (clearness and production of specific speech sounds) and their fluency (speed at which the sounds, syllables, and words are produced).
Children with pragmatic/social language deficits may have difficulty with turn-taking and following directions during group activities or interactions with peers. They may also have difficulty with appropriate emotional expressions and understanding body language.
Reading/Literacy
As children start back to school, parents may notice they have more homework assignments or that their child is struggling with reading. If your child is having difficulty with reading and communication, they may need speech therapy. Speech-language pathologists, also known as SLPs, specialize in the areas of language and literacy development.
Research has shown that a child’s phonological skills are closely linked to their reading ability. For that reason, SLPs focus on the underlying speech and language skills that contribute to reading success (sound-letter correspondence, decoding, word recognition, and reading comprehension).
The most important part of language development speech therapy Adelaide is the parent or caregiver’s involvement. That’s why SLPs will provide education, tools and cues for parents and caregivers to practice at home. Home practice is key to building literacy and communication skills!