Pediatric Speech Therapy
About
A child who feels like he or she is without a voice can suffer from low self-esteem. An inability to communicate often makes sharing ideas, asking for things, making friends, and participating in group activities difficult. We are here to help.
Our outpatient Pediatric Speech Therapy program treats young patients with speech, language, cognitive-communication, and swallowing disorders. With the help of our pediatric speech pathologist, programs are developed to ensure that each child reaches his/her highest possible level of functional communication.
Speech Therapy Tailored to Each Child’s Needs
After an initial evaluation of your child, our team will develop an individualized pediatric speech therapy program focused on one or more of the following areas:
The ability to understand or comprehend language heard or read. It involves understanding words, sentences, and meaning from spoken or written language, as well as understanding concepts such as following directions or understanding stories.
Is the ability to use language to communicate thoughts, needs, or ideas. It includes producing sounds, words, and sentences, using appropriate grammar and vocabulary, and effectively using language in social contexts.
These disorders, also known as pragmatic language disorders, involve difficulties with the social use of language. Individuals with social language disorders may have trouble understanding and following social rules in conversation, such as taking turns, recognizing nonverbal cues, maintaining eye contact, understanding jokes or sarcasm, and staying on topic. This can impact their ability to form and maintain relationships and navigate social interactions.
Involve problems with the physical production of sounds. A child with an articulation disorder may substitute, omit, distort, or add sounds, making speech difficult to understand.
These disorders refer to difficulties with any part of the eating or swallowing process, from accepting and managing food in the mouth to safely swallowing it. They can result from physical, neurological, or developmental issues and may involve coughing, choking, or gagging during eating.
A type of feeding issue where an individual restricts the variety or amount of food they are willing to eat. It can be due to sensory sensitivities, behavioral patterns, or anxiety related to certain textures, smells, tastes, or food appearances.
Also known as Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), these systems supplement or replace spoken or written language for individuals with speech or language impairments. They can include low-tech options like picture boards and sign language or high-tech options like speech-generating devices and communication apps.
Refers to the ability to read and write. It involves various skills, including phonemic awareness (recognizing sounds in words), decoding (sounding out words), vocabulary, reading comprehension, and writing. Literacy is essential for academic success and everyday communication.
A speech disorder characterized by disruptions in the flow of speech, such as repetitions of sounds, syllables, or words, prolongations (stretching out sounds), and blocks (pauses or stoppages in speech). Stuttering may also involve physical symptoms like tension in the face or body and can be influenced by stress or anxiety.
Specialized Treatment Options
A therapeutic technique that uses electrical currents to stimulate the nerves and muscles, often used in swallowing therapy. In the context of VitalStim and Ampcare, these devices deliver NMES to strengthen muscles involved in swallowing and improve coordination. For neonatal and pediatric populations, NMES may be used to help infants and children with dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) to develop or regain safe swallowing patterns. The use of NMES in these populations requires careful consideration of safety, dosage, and protocols suitable for their developmental level and specific needs.
A therapeutic approach developed by Debra Beckman, focusing on oral motor assessment and intervention techniques to improve muscle strength, range of motion, and control for feeding, swallowing, and speech development. It involves hands-on exercises and interventions targeting specific muscles in the lips, cheeks, tongue, and jaw to enhance oral motor skills, often used in pediatric populations to address feeding and speech difficulties.
Also known as a Videofluoroscopic Swallowing Study (VFSS), MBSS is a specialized X-ray procedure that assesses an individual’s swallowing function. The patient swallows various consistencies of food or liquid mixed with barium (a contrast material) while a series of X-ray images or videos are taken. This study helps identify the presence, severity, and nature of dysphagia, including aspiration (when food or liquid enters the airway) and other swallowing abnormalities. It is commonly used in adult and pediatric populations to diagnose and develop targeted treatment plans for swallowing disorders.
This is a child-centered feeding strategy that emphasizes recognizing and responding to a child's hunger and satiety cues. It promotes a positive and supportive feeding environment where caregivers are encouraged to provide appropriate, nutritious food while allowing the child to determine how much and whether to eat. This approach focuses on fostering healthy eating habits, reducing stress and anxiety around mealtimes, and addressing feeding challenges such as picky eating or mealtime behavior issues by building a trusting relationship between the caregiver and child.
Contact
We require a physician referral for evaluation and treatment.
Andi Loeffler, M.S., CCC-SLP
903.408.1923
Abbie Albrecht, M.S., CCC-SLP
903.408.1929
Jamie Canchola, M.S., CCC-SLP
903.408.1924
