SLP’s better known as Speech-Language Pathologists are the experts that help children overcome their persistent speech issues. The children may experience some complex disorders like autism, hearing impairments, Down syndrome, motor speech disorders. These disorders span from mild articulations and go to the extent of severe complexities.
Now that you’re worried about your child’s health and well-being, paving a path towards fixing a meeting with a speech pathologist can be your way out! The sole purpose of an SLP is to aid your child in overcoming issues associated with speech and language communication. They generally hold one-to-one sessions with your child and develop a friendly bond with the youngster while working well in his/her growth and progress. While speech pathologists’ take this general duty, speech pathologists perform many functions for helping your child, and these maxims come as a surprise to many. Organisations, such as CA Scottish Rite, offer Childhood Language Programs to address the needs of developing children and their families. Can’t resist knowing how? Well, stick onto us while we enumerate how:
- Speech Intelligibility:
The articulation skill deals with a person’s physical ability of tongue, palate, jaw, and lip movements. These movements are vital because they produce some individual speech sounds, which the professionals refer to as call phonemes. For instance, producing the /b/ sound needs inhaling, exhaling, and turning our voice on for bringing the lips together. The sound comes to formation when we stop and build on the airflow, which releases when we part our lips. Intelligibility refers to the ease with which people understand the speech of their child. Compromising the articulation skills decreases the intelligibility in comparison to other children. The speech pathologist helps the child to emit the sounds they face problems in, which in turn increases his/her overall speech intelligibility.
- Stuttering/ Speech Fluency:
The speech disorder affects the fluency of speech, which is characterized by breaks in the speech flow. These may be in the form of repetitions, interjections, prolongations, and blocks. The disorder begins right in childhood. Experiencing stuttering to a limited extent is quite common, but too many breaks lead to ineffective communication and bring about underconfidence. One also witnesses tensions in the neck, jaw, shoulders, face, eye blinks, and other unusual movements. These may occur in the hands, arms, legs, and feet. Thus, a speech pathologist with either an online speech pathology degree or a full-time certification aids in teaching skills and strategies for controlling this behavior. Undertaking speech therapy will help your child to develop friendships and indulge in seamless communications with peers.
- Expressive Language Skills:
Body movements such as raising eyebrows or waving to saying goodbye depict emotions while accompanying spoken English. These gestures and facial expressions hold importance for children in interpreting these for reaction and response. The child learns many new-fangled words and grasps phrases for seamless communication.
Final Thoughts:
A speech pathologist can bestow your child with the confidence he/she lacks, develop the ability to express his/her needs, and articulate words and sentences in an apt manner. Parents spend the most time with their child and play a role in impacting the child’s growth, well-being, and improvement. Thus, equipping yourself with the best knowledge, skills, and confidence works the best for you as a parent. Never hesitate to ask questions, take notes, and do homework while your child seeks the help of a speech pathologist. Together you can make a difference!
