The Benefits of Speech Therapy for Children | Pediatric Therapy Directory

Recent research shows that children born during the pandemic tend to have long-lasting deficits in social-emotional development compared to children born before the pandemic.

What is Speech Therapy for Children?

Speech therapy, or speech-language pathology, helps children strengthen their oral motor skills and improve their verbal and non-verbal communication abilities.

Verbal communication involves the use of spoken language to convey wants, needs, ideas, or feelings.

Nonverbal communication includes our gestures, facial expressions, body language, and how we interpret the nonverbal messages from other people.

Oral motor skills refer to the movement and coordination of the muscles in the mouth, jaw, tongue, and face. These skills are important for speaking, swallowing, and eating.

Speech therapists, known professionally as speech-language pathologists (SLPs), also work on independent feeding skills. They can help babies transition from a bottle to solid foods. They work with children who use G-tubes to help them transition to consuming foods by mouth. And they can help kids with sensory issues expand the number of foods they can tolerate.

Some speech therapists work in schools to support literacy skills in children who struggle with learning disorders or developmental delays. They can help kids

Recognize and manipulate sounds
Understand the relationship between letters and sounds
Improve reading and listening comprehension
Improve the flow of speech
Develop a larger vocabulary
Improve their executive functions such as attention, planning, organization, concentration, and mental flexibility

Speech therapists can also prescribe alternative communication devices or communication software for children who have difficulty developing speech. They can train children, their teachers, and their families on how to use those devices to support a child’s development.

Building Foundational Communication Skills with Speech Therapy

Early intervention for speech and language delays

Speech therapy can improve early communication skills in babies and toddlers with speech and language delays. It focuses on building “serve and return” interactions where the child babbles or gestures and the parent responds with eye contact, words, or gestures.

This back-and-forth exchange builds the foundation for communication. Speech therapists model and coach parents on maintaining the serve and return flow. They also work on skills like responding to the child's name, pointing and following pointing to share interest, and encouraging vocalizations like babbling.

SLPs help toddlers say their first words and build an understanding of facial expressions to support reading and responding to social cues.

Expanding vocabulary and expressive language skills

Speech therapy helps kids expand their vocabulary and language skills. The therapist works on growing the number of words a child can understand and say.

Speech therapy activities might include reading books, naming pictures, or playing with toys to introduce new words. The therapist models how to use new vocabulary when speaking. For example, they emphasize descriptive words like colors, textures, and sizes during play.

The therapist also creates opportunities for using longer sentences rather than just single-word phrases. This helps young children learn to combine words like "big dog" instead of saying just "dog".

Helping children speak more clearly

Speech therapy can improve a child’s articulation and speech intelligibility, which means making their speech clearer and easier to understand.

Articulation refers to how sounds are formed, which involves the movement of the tongue, lips, and jaw. When children struggle with articulation, they might mispronounce words or have trouble making the sounds of speech. Some children have difficulty making "r" sounds, which is an articulation problem.

Speech intelligibility refers to how well others can understand a child's speech. Speech therapists works with children to improve their ability to speak clearly. Through play-based activities and speaking exercises, children learn to pronounce sounds correctly and put words together in a way that is clear and understandable.

Addressing stuttering and fluency disorders

Speech therapy provides support for children with stuttering, a common type of fluency disorder. Fluency disorders affect the flow, speed, and rhythm of speech.

Stuttering is characterized by repetitions of sounds, syllables, or words, prolonging sounds, and interruptions in speech known as blocks. Children with stuttering may also show signs of struggle or tension in their speech. This can impact their confidence in speaking and their willingness to communicate in social or school settings.

Speech therapists help by teaching techniques to improve fluency, such as breath control, proper speech pacing, and starting sounds in a gentle way. They also work on building the child's confidence in speaking and reducing any anxiety associated with stuttering.

By providing a safe, judgment-free environment, speech therapy helps children with stuttering and other fluency disorders to communicate more effectively and feel more at ease during conversations. This not only improves their speech fluency but also enhances their overall communication and social interactions.

Supporting bilingual speech development

Speech therapy can be incredibly beneficial for children learning English as a second language. When a child is learning a new language, they may face challenges in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar that are different from those of a native speaker.

Speech therapists help these children by providing specialized exercises and activities that focus on the unique aspects of English. This includes practicing sounds that might not exist in their first language, building a strong English vocabulary, and understanding the rules of English grammar.

Speech therapists also use culturally sensitive approaches to make learning engaging and relevant. They support the child’s ability to switch between their first language and English seamlessly, which is an important skill in bilingual communication. This helps children feel more confident in their ability to communicate in English, both in school and in their everyday lives.

Mastering breath control and voice modulation

Breath control is about managing the breath while speaking, which helps in maintaining a steady, clear voice.

Voice modulation refers to adjusting the pitch and volume of the voice, making it more expressive and appropriate for different situations.

Learning to control voice loudness is important for communication. It helps children understand how to speak softly in a quiet room or louder in a noisy environment. Some kids struggle with this due to reasons such as overexcitement or emotional control issues, hearing loss, or not being aware of their voice volume.

Speech therapists teach these skills using play-based activities like blowing bubbles to practice breath control or reading stories with different voice tones. This type of practice helps children communicate more effectively, ensuring they are heard and understood. Therapists help kids learn to understand and follow rules about how loudly they can speak in different social settings.

Supporting children with hearing loss

For children who are deaf or hard of hearing, speech therapy includes aural rehabilitation, a process that helps them use their residual hearing, their other senses, and communication devices to understand and use spoken language better.

Speech therapists can help children learn to perceive and respond to sounds using hearing aids and cochlear implants. They can also help them learn to use visual cues, like lip-reading, to understand others.

Speech therapy is important for helping children with hearing loss learn words and concepts. They can help teach them about how sounds affect others and the social consequences of sounds they can’t hear (such as when they pass gas in public).

Because they can’t hear sounds, children with hearing loss have difficulty managing the loudness of their voices or controlling their breath to make sounds. Speech therapists can help them learn to speak in a more natural way so that they can use aspects of vocal speech to get their needs and wants met.

Speech therapists can also help kids with hearing loss manage everyday activities such as using the phone with assistive technology or asking for directions. This comprehensive approach to communication development helps kids become more independent at home, in school and in their community.

Enhancing auditory processing skills

Auditory processing refers to the way the brain interprets and makes sense of the sounds it hears. Children with auditory processing deficiencies might have trouble understanding speech in noisy environments, following verbal instructions, or differentiating similar-sounding words. This can affect their academic performance and social relationships.

Speech therapists can help kids

Improve their ability to focus on one sound when background noise is present
Decipher the differences between sounds
Improve their auditory memory
Increase their attention span for spoken language

By strengthening these abilities, children develop a better understanding of speech, improved information processing, better social communication skills, and improved academic success.

Getting along with other children

Speech therapy goes beyond improving speech. It also plays a critical role in teaching basic social skills like sharing and taking turns. These skills are fundamental for learning to interact well with others.

In therapy sessions, children engage in playful activities that mimic real-life social scenarios. For instance, they might play a game that requires them to wait for their turn or share toys with others. Through these activities, therapists gently guide children in understanding and practicing these important communication skills.

They learn the importance of listening to others, responding appropriately, and respecting each other's turn to speak or play. This is especially beneficial for children who find social interactions challenging. By improving these social skills, speech therapy helps children build better relationships with their friends and fosters a sense of belonging.

Becoming a better conversation partner

In speech therapy, children learn more than just how to speak clearly. They also learn how to use gestures and body language effectively, which are key parts of good communication.

Therapists teach them important skills like how to begin a conversation, wait for their turn to talk, and show they are interested in what others say.

Kids practice using their facial expressions and body language to express themselves, like nodding to agree or using hand movements to make a point.

They also learn to be good listeners, focusing on what others say and responding in a thoughtful way. This helps children not only speak better but also engage in conversations more meaningfully, making it easier for them to make friends and connect with others.

Learning to read and respond to social cues

Speech therapy is a valuable tool for helping kids learn to read and respond to social cues, an essential skill for successful interactions. This is especially beneficial for children with attention challenges, nonverbal learning disorders, or autism.

In therapy, kids practice recognizing different social signals, like facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language. They learn how to interpret these cues and respond in ways that are appropriate for the situation.

For example, they might practice understanding when someone is sad and how to offer comfort. These skills are important because they help children understand and connect with others around them. It can make a big difference for kids who might find social situations confusing or overwhelming.

By improving their ability to read and respond to social cues, speech therapy helps kids feel more confident and comfortable in social settings.

Identifying emotions & reducing frustration

Speech therapy helps children learn to identify and talk about their emotions. In therapy, children engage in activities that help them recognize different feelings, like happiness, sadness, anger, or fear, and learn the appropriate words to express them.

For example, they might look at pictures showing various facial expressions and learn to associate them with the corresponding emotions.

Understanding and verbalizing emotions can significantly reduce feelings of anxiety and frustration in children. When they can express what they feel in words, they are less likely to express those feelings through tantrums or other challenging behaviors.

Being able to communicate about their emotions also helps children develop better relationships with their peers and adults, as it fosters empathy and understanding. Speech therapy not only improves kids’ emotional intelligence but also contributes to healthier emotional regulation and social interactions with other children.

Providing alternative communication devices

Speech therapists are experts on augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices for children who have challenges with verbal speech.

These devices are used when children are unable to communicate effectively using speech alone, due to conditions such as severe speech impairments, autism, cerebral palsy, or after an injury.

AAC devices can be low-tech, like picture boards or symbol charts, which allow children to point to pictures with their fingers to express their needs and thoughts. There are also high-tech AAC solutions like computerized systems that produce speech electronically. These tools play a pivotal role in helping children develop communication skills and express their needs and desires.

By providing a means to communicate, AAC devices reduce frustration and foster independence. They also serve as a bridge to developing verbal language skills.

Speech therapists not only help in selecting the appropriate device for each child but also train the child and their caregivers on how to effectively use these tools, ensuring that communication remains a two-way process.

Improving Cognitive & Academic Skills with Speech Therapy

Pairing letters and sounds

Speech therapy teaches children to pair letters with their corresponding sounds, a foundational skill for talking, reading, and writing. Some kids experience delays in this area, which means they might have trouble recognizing that specific letters produce specific sounds. This delay can affect their ability to form words correctly, read simple words, or even follow spoken instructions.

For instance, a child struggling with this skill might not be able to link the sound 'buh' with the letter 'B,' which can make learning to read or spell words like 'ball' challenging.

In speech therapy, therapists use a variety of fun and interactive methods, such as letter-sound games, songs, flashcards, and storytelling to help children make these important connections.

By improving their ability to pair letters and sounds, children can improve their speech clarity, boost their reading skills, and better understand and follow spoken language.

Understanding & talking about events in the past and future

Speech therapists can help children with speech and language delays learn to understand and talk about future and past events. This involves using the correct tenses and understanding time concepts, which some children find challenging. Without these skills, kids might struggle to share their experiences, understand stories, or follow instructions that involve a sequence of events.

For example, a child who can't grasp these concepts might not understand the difference between what happened yesterday and what will happen tomorrow. In speech therapy, therapists use storytelling, role-playing, and visual aids to help children learn how to talk about different timeframes. They practice sentences like "I went to the park" for past events and "I will go to the park" for future plans.

Mastering this skill not only helps children in their everyday conversations but also lays a foundation for understanding subjects like history and science.

Asking and answering "wh” questions

Learning to ask and answer "wh" questions is an important part of language development for children. "Wh" questions include the words who, what, where, when, why, and how. Using these words effectively is essential for gathering information and understanding the world around us.

Some children may struggle with these questions due to language delays, difficulties with comprehension, or challenges in forming coherent responses. Without this skill, they might find it hard to engage in meaningful conversations, follow stories, or express their needs and curiosity.

In speech therapy, kids learn to recognize and respond to "wh" questions and how to use them to interact with others. This skill is important for helping children to form connections, participate in educational activities, and satisfy their natural curiosity about their environment.

Building strong grammar and sentence skills

Grammar and sentence construction are key components of literacy. Grammar involves using the right words in the correct order, and sentence construction is about putting words together to form complete thoughts.

Children with difficulties in these areas might make errors like "I goed to the park" instead of "I went to the park," or struggle to create longer, complex sentences. These challenges can be due to a range of issues, including developmental delays, limited exposure to rich language environments, or learning disorders.

Good grammar and sentence skills are important because they enable children to express themselves more precisely and understand others better. By focusing on these skills, speech therapists can help children learn to read and write better.

Telling stories and sequencing ideas

In speech therapy, children learn early storytelling skills and the art of sequencing, which are important for academic success. Storytelling involves creating and sharing a narrative, which requires organizing thoughts and ideas in a logical sequence. Sequencing, on the other hand, is the ability to understand and describe the order of events.

Children who struggle with these skills may find it difficult to recount their day, understand the plot of a story, or follow multi-step instructions. These challenges can stem from language delays, difficulties with memory, or problems with organizing thoughts.

By improving their storytelling and sequencing abilities, children not only enhance their communication skills but also boost their comprehension and memory skills. In therapy, engaging activities like narrating picture stories, sequencing cards, and memory games are used to develop these skills.

This not only helps children with school skills but also helps them with social interactions, where sharing experiences and understanding others' stories are important.

Predicting what happens next

Teaching children to predict what happens next is a valuable aspect of speech therapy. This skill involves understanding a sequence of events and anticipating what might come after. It's critical for both language comprehension and everyday interactions.

Children who have difficulty with this skill may struggle to follow stories, comprehend conversations that involve sequences, or feel anxious about unexpected changes. These challenges can stem from a variety of reasons, including language processing difficulties, limited exposure to varied experiences, or cognitive delays.

Speech therapists use storytelling, cause-and-effect games, and scenario-based discussions to improve this skill. By engaging in activities that encourage thinking ahead and guessing outcomes, children learn to process information more effectively, enhancing their comprehension and adaptive skills.

Developing Better Self-Regulation and Behavior with Speech Therapy

Supporting the development of executive skills

Executive skills are the management tools of the brain, helping with tasks like paying attention, planning, starting tasks, staying on track, organization, and adjusting to changes. Think of executive skills as the neurological processes that guide a child in organizing their thoughts and behavior.

We are not born with mature executive skills. We develop them over time through experience and the natural process of brain development. Research suggests that executive skills may not fully mature in some people until well into adulthood.

Children with executive skills challenges might struggle with focusing on a task, shifting from one activity to another, organizing their work, or even starting a task. For instance, a child may have difficulty paying attention during a lesson or might feel overwhelmed when trying to begin a homework assignment.

Speech therapists address these challenges by using structured activities and exercises targeted toward areas of weakness. They help children develop strategies to improve focus and attention, such as breaking tasks into smaller, more manageable steps. Or they may use visual aids like visual timers to help kids learn to maintain concentration for longer periods of time. For planning and task initiation, therapists might use tools like checklists or schedules, making it easier for children to start and complete tasks.

In addition to these strategies, therapists work on mental flexibility, which helps children learn how to adapt to new information or changes in routine. This skill is important in helping them cope with unexpected situations and reduces frustration.

By improving these executive skills, speech therapy not only helps children perform better academically but also enhances their ability to navigate everyday life more effectively.

Fostering engagement and joint attention

Speech therapy plays an essential role in enhancing engagement and joint attention, especially in children with developmental delays or conditions like autism. Engagement refers to a child's ability to be involved in and respond to their environment, such as spontaneously interacting with a caregiver.

Joint attention, on the other hand, is the shared focus of two individuals on an object or activity. It involves a child not only paying attention to something but also recognizing that another person is sharing this focus with them. For instance, a child and a parent both looking at a book and pointing to pictures is an example of joint attention.

Children with developmental challenges often struggle with these skills. They may find it difficult to maintain eye contact, follow where someone else is looking, or show interest in shared activities. This can impact their language development, as joint attention is foundational for learning new words and understanding communication cues.

Difficulties with engagement and joint attention make it hard for a child to develop strong relationships. It also affects their ability to develop basic imitation skills. Speech therapists can work with kids and their caregivers to strengthen these skills for improved cognitive and language development.

Managing behavioral difficulties

Speech therapy can be instrumental in teaching children better behavior management, both at home and school. Speech therapists employ a variety of techniques, including boundary setting and behavior modification.

Boundary setting involves establishing clear and consistent rules for communication and behavior, helping children understand what is expected of them. This can reduce confusion and help children feel more secure, often leading to better behavior.

Behavior modification techniques are used to change challenging behaviors through structured interventions. For instance, a therapist might use a reward system to encourage a child to take turns while speaking or to listen attentively.

By combining these approaches, speech therapists can help improve a child’s ability to manage their behavior in various settings, leading to more positive interactions and experiences both academically and socially.

The Role of Speech Therapy in Improving Feeding & Swallowing Skills

Learning to use bottles, cups, and straws

Some infants struggle with basic feeding skills like drinking from a bottle or transitioning from a bottle to a cup. This can be due to a range of issues, such as poor oral motor development, sensory processing disorders, or neurological conditions.

These difficulties can hinder their ability to suck, swallow, and manage different textures or flows of liquid, making feeding challenging. Speech therapists are trained to address these feeding issues.

They use specialized techniques to strengthen the baby's oral muscles and improve coordination for effective sucking and swallowing. They teach parents how to pace feeding appropriately and when to introduce straws and cups.

This collaborative approach helps parents learn to feel confident with feeding. It helps babies learn to feel more comfortable during feeding and to learn skills that will help them progress to regular food.

Transitioning to solid foods

Transitioning from milk to solid foods can be challenging for some children due to weak oral motor skills or sensitivity to different textures. Speech therapists use oral motor exercises to strengthen the muscles needed for effective chewing, which is crucial for handling solid foods. They also work on desensitizing children to various textures, gradually introducing them to a range of food types in a controlled and supportive manner. This process helps in reducing any anxiety or aversion to new textures.

Additionally, therapists assist in teaching children how to tolerate and use a spoon, an important skill for independent eating. By addressing these issues, speech therapy not only facilitates a smoother transition to solid foods but also promotes healthy eating habits and independence.

Addressing difficulties with swallowing

Speech therapists are experts in managing swallowing disorders, which can significantly impact how children eat or learn to take medication. Swallowing difficulties can be due to developmental delays, neurological disorders, prematurity, or physical abnormalities of the mouth, jaw, or throat.

Children with swallowing difficulties may experience problems like coughing during meals, refusing certain food textures, frequent vomiting during feeding, or prolonged feeding times.

A speech therapist will perform a swallow study on a child with suspected swallowing issues. A swallow study, formally known as a videofluoroscopic swallow study (VFSS), or sometimes called a modified barium swallow study, is a medical examination that assesses how well a child swallows food.

During a VFSS a child swallows a substance called barium which is a contrast medium that shows up on X-rays. It allows the therapist to watch how food travels through the child’s mouth and throat while they are swallowing.

The results of the swallow study allow the therapist to diagnose the reasons for the child’s swallowing difficulties and create a plan to address them.

These plans often include exercises to strengthen the muscles involved in swallowing, techniques to improve coordination of the swallow, positioning during feeding, and strategies to safely introduce different food textures. Therapists may also thicken liquids to help children control them better as they swallow.

Transitioning from a G-tube to oral feeding

Speech therapists play a key role in helping children transition off of gastrostomy tubes (G-tubes). A G-tube is used for children who cannot eat by mouth safely or sufficiently, providing nutrition directly to the stomach.

When a child is ready to begin oral feeding, speech therapists assess their readiness and ability to swallow safely. They then develop a gradual, step-by-step plan to introduce oral feeding. This plan typically includes exercises to strengthen the muscles used in swallowing and techniques to improve sensory responses to different food textures and tastes.

The therapist works closely with the child and caregivers, providing strategies to make the transition as smooth as possible. This process not only helps in developing safe swallowing and eating skills but also supports the child’s overall development and independence in feeding. Speech therapy ensures that this critical transition is tailored to the child’s unique needs and progresses at a pace that is comfortable and safe for them.