Speech and Language Therapy in Hingham, Pembroke, and Norwood, MA
Successful communication involves the ability to express oneself, listen to others, understand their verbal and nonverbal messages, and use language appropriately across a variety of settings. If you are concerned about your child's ability to communicate in any of these ways, he or she may be a candidate for speech and language services at South Shore Therapies.
Speech and Language Therapy
Proper communication skills are necessary for self-expression. Because every child progresses differently, personalized goals, knowledgeable therapists, and a strong home carryover program will create the best possible outcome for your child.
Our pediatric speech-language pathologists evaluate and treat speech and language difficulties related to the following:
- Receptive and Expressive Language Delays
- Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Social Pragmatic Deficits
- Auditory Processing Disorder
- Executive Function Deficits
- Apraxia
- Articulation or Phonological Disorders (inability to produce sounds)
- Language-Based Learning Disabilities
- Down Syndrome and Other Chromosomal Abnormalities
- Stuttering
- Voice Disorders
- Lack of Verbal Communication including implementation of both low and high-tech AAC devices
What Is Speech Therapy?
Speech therapists strive to improve all aspects of communication, including sound production, vocal quality, speech fluency, language understanding, language expression, and social communication. Pediatric speech therapy at South Shore Therapies is designed to assess and treat a variety of communication disorders in a fun and nurturing environment. Depending on the age and speech difficulty, we may talk, play, read books, or use interactive activities with your child to model speech and teach appropriate sound production and language development.
How Can Speech Therapy Benefit My Child?
Your young child may be a candidate for speech therapy if they are showing vulnerabilities in any speech and language domains. For example, Therapy may be beneficial for older children who have trouble following and answering questions about a story, have trouble conversing with others, avoid interacting with peers, cannot read nonverbal cues such as facial expression or tone, do not understand figurative language, or struggle to come up with the right word. If you're unsure if your child may require speech therapy, you can utilize our speech and language checklist to determine if your child may benefit from services.
During your initial visit, our pediatric speech-language pathologists will evaluate your child’s current communication skills. If treatment is recommended, we will work with you to develop a plan of treatment that will target the problem areas identified during your child’s assessment.
Other conditions or areas a speech and language pathologist may address are:
- Language Delays (child is not understanding language or has no words by 15 months)
- Speech Sound Disorders (Apraxia, Phonological Disorders)
- Social Communication Disorders
- Fluency Disorders (Stuttering)
- Executive Function Difficulties
- Voice Disorders
- Children who could benefit from augmentative/alternative communication systems
If your child struggles to speak or follow directions, schedule an evaluation with the professional speech pathologists at South Shore Therapies. We'll assess your child's speech capabilities to determine the best course of treatment. Contact us at 781-335-6663 today.
How Do I Know My Child May Benefit From Speech Therapy
You may notice several signs that your child could benefit from speech and language therapy. In many cases, children with speech-related concerns might have difficulty making the correct speech sounds, resulting in miscommunications and general problems being understood. Children with language issues might have a hard time following directions, have limited vocabulary, make grammatical errors, or have trouble formulating their thoughts.
- lack of spontaneous language – mostly imitates others
- difficulty initiating or maintaining play with peers
- disfluencies in speech such as sound and word repetitions beyond the age of 5
- hoarse or raspy speech
- difficulty initiating tasks and following them through to completion
How Speech and Language Intervention Can Support Early Childhood Development
It is vital to your child’s development to recognize delays as early as possible. By identifying your child’s areas of need, you can change the trajectory of their developmental path by providing them with adequate support. Identifying developmental challenges early gives children the chance to improve functional outcomes and avoid potential issues in their learning, language development, self-confidence and behavior.
Areas where speech and language intervention can support your infant and toddler are:
- Receptive & Expressive Language
- Natural Language Acquisition
- Analytic Language Acquisition
- Foundations for First Words
- Play & Early Language Skills
- Social-Emotional Learning
- Articulation & overall Speech Intelligibility
Early signs that may indicate speech and language intervention is warranted:
- Not smiling or showing interest in playing with others (birth-3 months)
- Minimal babbling or vocalizations (4-7 months)
- Limited use of gestures – such as pointing, waving, clapping (7-12 months)
- Not understanding what others say (7-24 months)
- Saying only a few words (12-18 months)
- Not putting two words together (18-24 months)
- Having trouble playing and talking with other children (2-3 years)
- Difficulty with saying p, b, m, h, and w the right way in words most of the time (12-24 months)
- Difficulty with saying k, g, f, t, d, and n the right way in words most of the time. Being hard to understand (24-36 months)
Types of Speech-Language Evaluations
Depending on your child's needs, we may recommend different types of speech-language evaluations. These evaluations are instrumental in determining which speech therapy services will be most effective for your child. Our speech therapists for kids will likely administer one of the following types of evaluation:
- Standard Speech-Language Evaluation: This evaluation is used to assess specific developmental areas. The standard evaluation is an excellent tool to identify your child's strengths and weaknesses and find a good starting point for treatment.
- Comprehensive Speech-Language Evaluation: This evaluation is typically the best option if your provider wants to test for multiple communication issues. A comprehensive assessment will look at language skills that will impact your child in multiple environments such as home and school. The result is a thorough and detailed report of your child's needs and, accommodation and modification suggestions beyond the therapy environment.
Learn More from Our Speech Therapists
Speech and language therapy for kids can be incredibly beneficial. At the first sign of speech or language difficulties we encourage you to visit South Shore Therapies. Our speech therapists are well-versed in a wide variety of disorders and their causes, and will work with you and your child to create a specific treatment plan. Our speech and language therapy services are comprehensive, so you won't need to go anywhere else in Hingham, Pembroke & Norwood, MA for treatment. Contact us today with questions or concerns.