When should my child receive speech therapy?
Most pediatricians will refer a child when they believe that a speech assessment (see question below) is appropriate. Generally physicians notice that your child has not reached appropriate milestones during your child's well visit appointments.Signs that your child may need therapy include limited vocabulary (developmental milestone link), frustration due to inability to communicate, unable to understand what your child is saying, and/or inability to follow simple commands.
My pediatrician says that my child needs speech therapy. What do I do next?
Ask them who they recommend and call several area therapists to check for availability. There are several types of therapy settings. Children can be seen in a clinic, at home and at school. Different providers offer various types of services. You should get an assessment completed first and the therapist should then be able to make recommendations as to whether therapy is warranted and what the next step should be.
What is a speech assessment?
A licensed clinical speech therapist will conduct a standardized test with your child to ascertain where they are performing in relation to other children their age with respect to their speech and language development. The test can last up to an hour. Speech therapists also take into account clinical observations and parent reports during their assessment and therapeutic recommendations.
How often should my child receive speech therapy?
That is dependent upon a number of things, including the severity of your child's delays and can vary from monthly consultative visits to weekly and sometimes even multiple sessions in a week.
Does my child need feeding therapy?
Some children, for a number of reasons need to undergo feeding therapy. Some of the following areas are addressed in feeding therapy: "picky eaters," textural aversions, failure to thrive diagnosis, swallowing issues, history of aspiration/pneumonia, poor oral motor skills, oral aversions, and transitions to and from feeding tubes to name a few.
Click to view feeding milestones.
Click to view feeding milestones.
