Speech-language disorders
Pediatric speech and language therapy help children with verbal communication, articulation, oral motor development, and other communication skills which are needed for a child to learn, communicate, and participate in everyday activities.
Our pediatric speech-language program can provide significant benefits for:
Apraxia of speech
A speech difficulty in which a child is unable to produce certain sounds correctly. Articulation errors are described as a substitution, omission, addition, and distortion.
Auditory Processing
A neurological and developmental disorder that is characterized by challenges with communication and social skills. The outcome of treatment is to improve cognitive, communication (using gestures, words, pictures, or AAC device), and pragmatic (social) skills.
Brain-related difficulties in processing (receiving, remembering, understanding, and using) the information heard.
Movement difficulties caused by damage to the motor control centers of the brain. Cerebral palsy may affect fine and gross motor skills, oral motor functioning, communication, cognition, vision, and sensation.
Inability to communicate successfully due to cognitive deficits. An individual with a cognitive-communication disorder has difficulty with attention, memory, organization, problem-solving, reasoning, and executive function.
A genetic condition involving an extra chromosome that delays an affected child’s physical and intellectual development.
Ability to use verbal and nonverbal communication to convey meaning and messages to others. A child with an expressive language disorder has difficulty using speech or alternative forms of communication to communicate wants, needs, thoughts, and ideas.
A speech disorder that impacts the “smoothness” (flow, rhythm, and speed) of speech, such as stuttering. It is characterized by repetitions (sounds, syllables, words, phrases), sound prolongations, blocks, interjections, and revisions.
A condition in which an individual experience hearing loss due to blockage, structural problems, frequent ear infections, illnesses (e.g., mumps, measles, chickenpox, and brain tumors), genetic disorders, head/ear injury, medications, or loud noise.
Literacy and Pre-literacy Issues
Difficulties in planning and executing the movements needed to produce sounds, such as childhood apraxia of speech and dysarthria.
Incorrect patterns of the tongue and facial muscles involved in speech, breathing, and swallowing. The expected outcome of treatment is to improve or correct the patient’s incorrect patterns by increasing awareness of orofacial muscles and postures, improving muscle strength and coordination, and establishing normal speech articulation and swallowing patterns.
A speech difficulty due to a consistent pattern of errors (i.e., phonological processes) past a certain age.
A way a person uses language in social contexts. A child with a pragmatic language disorder has difficulty following social norms such as taking turns, understanding and responding to nonverbal communication, introducing and maintaining topics of conversation, interrupting a conversation politely, using appropriate eye-contact and knowing how to adapt language and behave according to the setting.
Ability to understand spoken and written language. A child with a receptive language disorder has difficulty following directions, understanding complex sentences, answering questions, and demonstrates decreased listening skills or comprehension.
Abnormality with the pitch, volume, or quality of the voice due to vocal abuse (e.g., yelling), vocal cord dysfunction, infection, inflammation, neuromuscular disorder, or psychological conditions.
Literacy refers to the ability to read, write, and use written information in a variety of contexts. A child with written language disorders demonstrates difficulty with word recognition, reading comprehension, encoding, spelling, or written expression.
We help your child communicate in Spanish and/or English.
Many bilingual families understand the value of being bilingual and often make special efforts to ensure that their child speaks and understand their heritage language. We provide speech-language evaluations and individual therapy services in English and Spanish.
