pediatric communication disorders
apraxia - articulation - phonological - language - autism - Bilingual
What are pediatric speech and language disorders?
There are many reasons why a child may struggle to communicate, and it is not always clear at first why young children are not developing alongside their typical peers.
The brain is a fascinating place, designed with specific programs that allow us to interpret the outside world and share our thoughts. When a child is not meeting expected milestones, intervention may be needed to help them along their way. The root cause could lie in the language sector (expressive, receptive, or both), the motor planning area, the social and pragmatic functions, auditory systems, or a combination of these concerns, meaning a global delay. Speech-language pathologists are trained to tease apart a child’s communication difficulties and support them in their specific area(s) of need.
Language problems in children are described by many terms: language delay, language disorder, language impairment, language-learning disability (LDD), and specific language impairment (SLI).
The origin of articulation and phonological disorders is unknown, and cannot be explained on the basis of neurological damage, muscle weakness or paralysis, or structural problems such as cleft palate. Other organic disorders, such as hearing loss or abnormalities of the mouth for example, may also lead to complications with speech production; however, the root cause is often not clear.
Many people with autism have sensory sensitivities and may be picky eaters. Following a sensory diet and setting up the person’s home and learning spaces to support their sensory needs may help to keep the person more regulated so they can access their environment more effectively. When a person feels regulated, they can more easily engage in activities such as learning and communication.
How can speech therapy help?
Intervention for pediatric speech and language disorders is client-specific and based on the child’s unique profile of strengths and needs.
Speech therapy can help to improve a child’s phonological awareness and motor planning for production of speech sounds, support receptive and expressive language development in the first years of life, and empower children with autism as they learn to navigate this world in a unique way.
Therapy will begin at the child’s level of understanding and expression and work towards helping them to expand their skills by targeting the specific areas that they are having difficulty with. A speech-language pathologist may support intervention through speaking, listening, reading, writing, social play or sensory support. The earlier a child receives direct intervention the better.
Our approach at CloudSpeech
We believe that teletherapy is often an excellent space for pediatric therapy.
Teletherapy allows for more efficient and frequent sessions from the comfort of their home or familiar setting, and allows for parent inclusion in the therapeutic process. Our virtual clinic primarily works with children from two to teens with the following needs:
Late Talkers: 2-3 years of age. These children aren't talking yet, but speech therapy helps to get them on track!
Preschool Language Disorders: 3-6 years of age. These children don't catch up as we hoped with language therapy, and exhibit signs of a more complex language disorder, that may need continued support into the school-age years.
School-Age Language Disorders: 7-12 years of age. These children have persisting difficulties with language as they move into higher levels of language with complex sentences, narratives, reading and writing. Concerns for dyslexia and other learning difficulties may need to be addressed.
Speech Sound Disorders: 2 years old - teenagers. These children are having difficulty with pronouncing words. It could be due to pattern based phonological disorders, or production based articulation disorders. Often times these are 4-5 year olds saying things like /tat/ for cat, or /ta/ for star. Or they may be 6-7 year olds with 'slushy sounding’ S-sounds (lateral or frontal lisp) or distorted R-sounds /wabbit/ for rabbit. And sometimes older children who have not received speech therapy for articulation disorders continue to have difficulty with those later developing sounds R, S, and L.
Childhood Apraxia of Speech: 2 years of age and up. Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is also a speech sound disorder, but we prefer to highlight it separately because the treatment approach is very different from other speech sound disorders. There has been great controversy and misunderstanding about this diagnosis in the past, but new research has helped us to understand that it is a motor based difficulty, and requires a motor learning therapy approach. You can learn more about CAS on our apraxia page, or at one of our favorite resources, Apraxia-Kids.
Autism Spectrum Disorders: 2 years of age and up. Autism has become a popular word, and sometimes people mistake other disorders for ‘autism concerns.’ We are passionate about autism, and love supporting these children whenever teletherapy is an appropriate setting. Sometimes, the screen based therapy is a very good fit, and we have had great success with many clients. However, when children have more complex needs like sensory integration, behavior challenges, attention, etc, in-person therapy may be a better choice (when available). Speech-language pathologists do not diagnose autism, therefore, if AU is suspected in one of our younger clients, we will help to support the family in getting a diagnosis from a specialized medical doctor. Teletherapy can be a great fit for therapy that emphasizes parent coaching in the child's home environment. For older kids on the spectrum, virtual individualized support is often something they look forward to.
Individualized home practice programs are always recommended to provide extended opportunities for the child to practice in between direct sessions. Our goal is to make it easier for children with pediatric speech and language disorders to get to a speech therapist more often so they can make progress faster.