Speech-language therapy is a systematic method of improving communication skills. 

Communication is made up of two general areas:  Language and Speech/Articulation

• Language is the system of rules that enables us to communicate ideas and express wants and needs.  Language encompasses what a child understands-receptive language - and what a child produces - expressive language.  Receptive and expressive language are made up of three major areas including:  semantics (vocabulary), syntax (grammar) and pragmatics (social communication).

• Speech, or articulation, refers to the sounds a child produces to make words.  Articulation errors are detected by difficulty understanding the speech of a child.  These errors can occur for reasons including developmental delay, anatomical differences (e.g. cleft palate, low tone), history of medical conditions (e.g. middle ear infections) or neurological disorders.  The presence of a speech or articulation disorder does not necessarily indicate a deficiency in overall intelligence or general communication ability.

Other areas that speech-language pathologists work on include Fluency/Stuttering, Social Skills, Oral Motor Development, and Language Learning Disabilities.

What causes speech-language delays?

Speech-language disorders maybe present in an otherwise typically developing child or in conjunction with other medical conditions or diseases. The following medical disorders and health conditions typically include delayed or disordered speech and language:

Hearing loss—Speech and language develop from hearing the language that is spoken. Various types and degrees of hearing loss can affect speech and language development in different ways. For example, if a child is not hearing the higher pitched sounds in our language (e.g. “f”, “s”) , he/she may present with an articulation and/or language disorder. If your child has a speech/language delay, he/she should have a full hearing evaluation to rule out hearing loss.

Autism Spectrum Disorders--A group of disorders characterized by delays in the development of socialization and communication skills.

Prematurity— Babies that are born before 36 weeks gestation often have underdeveloped nervous systems that can lead to developmental delays, including speech/language problems.
Auditory Processing Disorders--Difficulty with decoding speech sounds and processing or interpreting language accurately.

Neurological Disorders---Cerebral palsy, seizure disorders, genetic syndromes, and traumatic brain injury can affect language and/or the muscles needed for speaking.

Structural problems—A cleft lip and/or palate can interfere with speech production.