Frequently Asked Questions:
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is speech
therapy? Speech Therapy
is the treatment provided to increase a person's ability to use effectively
communicate basic wants and needs through their use of language and clear
articulation. In addition, speech therapy may also be given to help a
person with oral motor or swallowing deficits.
Is everyone administered a formal test? No. Formal testing is not always able to be performed. This may be due to the individual's age, degree of disability, or many other reasons.
Is everyone administered a formal test? No. Formal testing is not always able to be performed. This may be due to the individual's age, degree of disability, or many other reasons.
What happens after the
evaluation is completed? It is through the use of both formal and informal test measures
that an accurate depiction of the individual's level of functioning is
obtained. This is used to determine an appropriate plan of care for
therapy. This will include short-term and long-term goals.
Can family
members/caregivers participate in therapy? We strongly encourage all family
members, caregivers, and/or teachers to participate in therapy sessions.
We provide continuous education on all techniques utilized in the
treatment session. We encourage families to continue working on these
skills at home to increase generalization and increased carryover of skills.
Does my child need
speech therapy?
Some “red flags” to help determine if your child may need intervention are:
Some “red flags” to help determine if your child may need intervention are:
- Does not babble by one year of
age
- Does not point by twelve months
of age
- Not consistently producing
words by 15 months of age
- Delayed development of
vocabulary
- Uses more gestures than words
by 18 months of age
- Speech and language is
different from children of the same age
- Decreased sound repertoire
- Speech is difficult for others,
outside of the the immediate family, to understand
- The child demonstrates
increased frustration during communication attempts
- Parents/caregivers need to
provide increased repetitions before the child follows directions or
answers questions
- Limited appropriate play skills
- Says a word accurately once,
then doesn't use it again
- Lessened interest in social
situations by age 24 months
- Decreased/fleeting eye contact
- Delayed response time
- Decreased ability to
communicate wants and needs to others
- Perseverative/repetitive
behaviors
- Loss of skills previously mastered
What can you do if you
are concerned about you or your child's own speech and language
development? Contact us for a
telephone consultation. We will then help determine if a screening or a
comprehensive speech and language evaluation is necessary. Please contact us at (954) 401-4525 to see if you or your child would benefit from our services.
