Children diagnosed with speech and language disorders are treated in weekly sessions lasting 30-60 minutes that consist of assessment, practice activities and a review at the end.
Kids speech therapy Adelaide sessions for kids should be enjoyable and engaging; learning takes place best through play. An SLP might suggest that their toddler play with a doll and pretend to feed it to develop better articulation skills.
Language
Children must communicate effectively with other kids and adults to learn new things. If a child has difficulty pronouncing certain sounds or words correctly, therapists can teach them how to say them properly so that people around them understand what they are saying.
Kids speech therapy Adelaide often looks like play, with toys used to teach specific skills. A therapist may use one with pictures depicting objects starting with an “m” sound to encourage their toddler to imitate its pronunciation correctly.
Receptive language therapies aim to assist children in understanding what is being said to them; this process is called “receptive language”. Therapists may work on expanding children’s vocabulary or teaching them how to string sentences together. Furthermore, they can help read social cues and follow directions more readily using activities like role-playing or story time; depending on each child and their individual needs, these may be conducted outside a regular classroom setting or as pull-out models.
Social Skills
Children require practical communication skills to form friendships and understand directions in school and beyond. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can be invaluable when developing these abilities.
Social language skills, commonly called pragmatics, include the ability to interact effectively in different environments. For instance, children can develop strategies for communicating more effectively when speaking to infants versus adults.
Parents play an integral part in helping their children build vital skills. They should participate in sessions and take on tasks and activities from home that help ensure these new abilities translate to real-world environments for long-term success.
Feeding/Swallowing
Children diagnosed with feeding and swallowing disorders, known as dysphagia, are at greater risk for other health, learning, and social difficulties.
Children living with cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorder, congenital heart defects, Down Syndrome, traumatic brain injury or premature/low birth weight may be at an increased risk for swallowing or feeding disorders. Our therapists understand the frustration caused by such conditions and will offer practical techniques you can implement at home to manage these challenges effectively.
Kids speech therapy Adelaide sessions generally begin with an evaluation that assesses your child’s medical and feeding history, parent/caregiver report, oral-mechanism examination and sometimes observation of eating a typical meal. Following this, a treatment plan may be devised using various techniques to increase your child’s communication abilities.
Motor Skills
Children may need help developing oral motor skills like chewing, swallowing and lip and tongue movement for speech and feeding. An SLP might use fun activities such as blowing toys, crazy straws and toothbrushes that make music to help strengthen the muscles needed for speech communication and feeding.
Parents play an essential part in speech therapy sessions for their children. Therapists will ask parents to practice specific strategies at home and school environments, which is crucial in optimising gains made during speech therapy sessions.
A speech pathologist can help work out why your child is struggling and then design a treatment plan that will be best for them. It might include a combination of techniques, including play-based therapy. In addition, the therapist can provide advice on how to support your child at home and school.
The most important thing to remember is that you and your child need to work with your therapist to achieve the best results. So, it would be best if you found a therapist that you both enjoy and can relate to. It’s also important that your child feels safe and comfortable with their therapist to ensure that they are engaged in the sessions.