Ways Speech Pathologists Can Help Your Child

Speech-Language Pathologists (SLP) work with children with various disorders from mild articulation delays to more complex disorders such as autism, Down Syndrome, hearing impairment, motor speech disorders, and other developmental delays.
 

1. Articulation is the physical ability to move the tongue, lips, jaw and palate (to produce individual speech sounds.  Intelligibility refers to how well people can understand your child’s speech.
2. Expressive Language is a symbolic, rule governed system used to convey a message.  They can be words spoken or written or gestures.
3. Receptive language is your child’s ability to listen and understand language.  An SLP can help teach your child new words and how to follow directions, answer questions, and join simple conversations.
4. Stuttering is a communication disorder that affects one’s ability to communicate.  Often in stuttering there are repetitions, prolongations, interjections, and blocks.  There is sometimes tension in the face and body: eye blinks, nose flaring, other facial movements; clenched fists, stomping feet, or other unusual movements in arms, hands, legs, feet.  SLPs’ can teach children how to control this behavior to increase fluency and intelligibility.
5. Voice disorders include vocal cord paralysis, nodules or polyps on the vocal folds.  Other disorders that can cause hoarseness or aphonia (loss of voice).  Resonance refers to the quality.
6. Social/Pragmatic Language refers to the way children use language to communicate in different ways.  We change language according to the people of place and following rules for conversation. (turn-taking, verbal and nonverbal cues)
7. Cognitive-communication disorders refer to the impairment of attention, memory, abstract reasoning, awareness, and executive functions.  These can be developmental (born with) or acquired due to a head injury, stroke or degenerative deficits.
8. Augmentative and Alternative Communication (other than oral speech) that are used to express thoughts, needs, wants, ideas.

​https://www.friendshipcircle.org/blog/2013/05/28/10-ways-a-speech-language-pathologist-can-help-your-child/