2. Children

If a lack of interest, motivation, or attention is an issue during therapy, consider this. Some children have physical, tactile, or real world sensory/ stimulation needs, whereas others may have a general distaste for the traditional classroom setting. A child overworked in traditional therapy may have developed an aversion to traditional therapy framework. If this is the case a nature-based therapy setting combined with SLP expertise may be the best kept secret in acquiring goal achievement. Furthermore, enticing your child with the exciting prospect of being around horses might even get your child excited and asking for their next therapy session!

A speech impediment may be amusing or even endearing at a young age, but by kindergarten the negative effects will be clear. Your child may be embarrassed, frustrated, shutting down, or even being made fun of by their peers. This can rapidly develop into a big problem, create self-esteem issues or negative behaviors we all want to avoid. This is why it is crucial to get it under control earlier on in life, because once frustration of not being easily understood occurs you may notice episodic selective mutism, tantrums, or physical aggression. Every child deserves the right to communication, and a speech-language therapist is the professional fully accredited to provide it. 

Not having an effective way to communicate is hard. No one likes to feel misunderstood, and if frustrated about a lack of effective communication children especially will find a way to make their needs known in the most undesirable ways. This is where a SLP becomes essential by developing a step-by-step plan, tailored to your individual child's needs. An SLP will start at the basic foundational aspects of communication science and build up their communication skills until a functional communication system can be established and refined, all while providing encouragement and a safe space to develop and practice their skills. It has been demonstrated time and time again that once a functional communication system is established, for the majority of cases, even the challenging ones, a significant decrease in unwanted behaviors is one of these desired outcomes.

As a side note, using alternative forms of communication has been shown to improve a child's chances of developing effective communication skills. Just like how training wheels can help a child learn to ride a bike, these tools can support early progress and eventually be phased out. For many children, transitioning to the most efficient form of communication becomes a realistic long-term goal—one they’re often highly motivated to achieve in order to connect with family and peers mor readily. 

Interaction, communication, and the social aspect of language are essential and necessary parts of growing up. Childhood development and any lack of communicative skills can lead to a big gap in academic achievement. Even the smallest gap in language development can snowball into a big issue, especially when more inferential material is added to next year's grade level at school. Language therapy can fill in what part of language is missing, overcome language deficits, catch a child up to the language level of their peers, and thrive in the classroom setting. Seeing as how literacy and language are intricately intertwined you could very well see a positive impact on their literacy skills as well, especially if we incorporate it into the initial plan of care.

Some autistic individuals possess extensive abilities in certain areas, while others face significant limitations. One commonality is represented in a lack of the innate social-communication skills that come naturally without any specialized training whatsoever for their neurotypical peers. Language therapy provided by a SLP for an autistic patient focuses on the development of functional social-communication methods and for their other targeted treatment goals to be met, if they have any. Seeing as how most communication deficits lead to undesirable behavior SLPs have a focus of communication therapy to treat the behavior, not the other way around. 

Some children lose confidence with these frustrating conditions, which can quickly multiply into an era of speech riddled with dysfluencies. The way out of this is not to discourage or criticize, as doing so has been proven to increase anxiety and make the condition worse. Instead, bring your child to a SLP so the convoluted thread of dysfluency can be unraveled and smoother, clearer speaking habits are the result. Know that certain breathwork methods may be indicated in certain instances to conquer fluent speaking habits and can be provided as homework to work on at home, if so desired. 

An inaudible voice is impossible to hear. Unfortunately most children don't realize this and will be mad at YOU for not hearing them. Working with a speech language pathologist will give your child all the tools they need to get their voice heard, and with methods you may never have thought of before.