The Speech Room

16/02/2021

04/05/2020

Welcome to their world.

18/12/2019

Aphasia is an impairment of language, affecting the production or comprehension of speech and the ability to read or write. Aphasia is always due to injury to the brain-most commonly from a stroke, particularly in older individuals.
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16/12/2019

Did you know that sign language can be beneficial to not only individuals with hearing impairments, but also to babies who are first learning to communicate? In fact, babies actually develop the ability to point and gesture before they even use words to express their wants and needs! Many parents may be skeptical to introduce sign language to their babies out of fear that it may actually delay the development of spoken language. However, research as shown that sign language often provides a bridge to support a child’s spoken language development. #869-469-9750

12/12/2019

Children comm​​unicate with sounds and vocalisations from birth.
Their “speech” begins with early, involuntary sounds, and develops into sophisticated sequences of movements - using the lips, tongue, and producing all of the sounds in words and sentences.
Speech is a powerful tool for communication. To foster early communicators and language users, educators observe children’s development of:
Vocalisations or sometimes called ‘cooing’ (sounds that pave the way to verbal communication)
speech sounds (like /b/ /d/ /a/ /s/), and
phonology (the rules of our sound system).

11/12/2019

When to seek Speech Therapy for Your Child

Many parents ask the question, “How do I know if my child needs speech therapy?” While a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) has many areas of expertise, (fluency/stuttering, social language, overall language development including grammar, vocabulary, understanding concepts, following directions, etc.), the concept of articulation, or sound production, may warrant the most questions for parents of school-aged children.
Many parents notice sound errors in their child’s speech and wonder, “What’s normal for children of similar age?” “Will these errors resolve on their own?” and “How do I address this issue without bringing too much attention to it?”
Speech therapy for articulation can start with children as early as 3 years old (for sounds like /k/, /g/, etc.) and ages 4 and up and for most other sounds. An articulation chart below shows the varying age at which children typically acquire mastery of different sounds.
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10/12/2019

The recommended treatment for aphasia is usually speech and language therapy. Sometimes aphasia improves on its own without treatment.
This treatment is carried out by a speech and language therapist (SLT). If you were admitted to hospital, there should be a speech and language therapy team there.

How speech and language therapy can help
For people with aphasia, speech and language therapy aims to:
help restore as much of your speech and language as possible (reduce impairment)
help you communicate to the best of your ability (increase activity and participation)
find alternative ways of communicating (use compensatory strategies or aids) #869-469-9750

09/12/2019

Speech Therapy Exercises
Tongue In-and-Outs. Stick your tongue out and hold it for 2 seconds, then pull it back in. ...
Tongue Side-to-Side. ...
Tongue Up-and-Down. ...
Say Cheese! ...
Practices Your Kissy Face. ...
Consonant & Vowel Pairing Repetition. ...
Exercise with Speech Therapy Apps. ...
Word Games

06/12/2019

How to Make Speech Therapy More Fun at home.

• Incorporate Some Movement! Kids love to move. ...
• Play Games. Spice up your speech therapy sessions with some fun games. ...
• Choose Themed Activities.
• Try Some Crafts. ...
• Do Something Fun While Drilling Flashcard
Contact the speech room for fun learning activities and games
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05/12/2019

A speech delay might be due to:
an oral impairment, like problems with the tongue or palate (the roof of the mouth)
a short frenulum (the fold beneath the tongue), which can limit tongue movement
Many kids with speech delays have oral–motor problems. These happen when there's a problem in the areas of the brain responsible for speech. This makes it hard to coordinate the lips, tongue, and jaw to make speech sounds. These kids also might have other oral-motor problems, such as feeding problems.
Hearing problems also can affect speech. So an audiologist should test a child's hearing whenever there's a speech concern. Kids who have trouble hearing may have trouble saying, understanding, imitating, and using language.
Ear infections, especially chronic infections, can affect hearing. But as long as there is normal hearing in one ear, speech and language will develop normally.
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04/12/2019

When looking at a speech therapy goal, think if it is a goal that you will be able to look at 3-6 months from now and really be able to tell if that goal is met. With a child in early intervention, a parent’s first dream is usually for their child to be able to talk. If the goal is written for your child to use spoken words to let you know what they want, this may end up as a goal that keeps getting renewed without being met after several reviews. However, if the goal is written to be more specific and includes specific gestures or words for them to be able to use, then it will be easier for you and the speech therapist to look at that goal and say more definitively that the goal was met or not.
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03/12/2019

A child with a language delay might say words well but only be able to put two words together.
A child with a speech delay might use words and phrases to express ideas but be hard to understand.
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02/12/2019

Speech-language therapy addresses challenges with language and communication. It can help people with autism improve their verbal, nonverbal, and social communication. The overall goal is to help the person communicate in more useful and functional ways.
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29/11/2019

A baby's first words are music to a parent's ears. But how can you tell if your child's speech and language development is on track?
While every child learns to speak at his or her own pace, general milestones can serve as a guide to normal speech and language development. These milestones help doctors and other health care providers determine when a child might need extra help.
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27/11/2019

What happens when you see a Speech and Language Therapist?
When you make an appointment with a Speech and Language Therapist, either in the clinic or in your own home, a number of things may happen.
For communication difficulties, you will be asked about the nature of your difficulties, their impact on you, and their origin. The Speech and Language Therapist will then look at various aspects of language by asking questions and showing you pictures. Once they have assessed all the relevant aspects of language they will then formulate a diagnosis and therapy plan.
Speech therapy for adults focuses on the individual’s’ needs. For swallowing difficulties, you will be asked about your medical history and diet, and the details of the problem. The Speech and Language Therapist will then examine your reflexes and the muscles of your mouth and throat. They will then trial various food consistencies and techniques with you to determine the safest way for you to swallow. They may recommend changes to the textures of your food or drink, the way you sit or hold your head, or give you exercises to do.
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26/11/2019

The left side of the brain plays a critical role in speech and language.

The left side of the brain is concerned with language, number skills, reasoning, scientific skills, spoken language and right-hand control. The left side is the hub of language, where you “assemble” the language (words and sentence structure) you want to communicate. This is not to say that the right side of your brain has no involvement with language; the two sides of your brain work together to perform functions such as understanding, reasoning and organizing language.

The right side of your brain is in charge of visual awareness, imagination, emotions, spatial abilities, face recognition, music awareness, 3D forms, interpreting social cues, and left-hand control. It performs some math, but only rough estimations and comparisons. The brain’s right side also helps us to comprehend visual imagery and make sense of what we see. It plays a role in language, particularly in interpreting context and a person’s tone, staying on topic in a conversation and organizing your thoughts and ideas.

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25/11/2019

To determine the need for speech therapy and to create articulation goals, speech therapists assess a child's speech production and records his/her errors at the word and sentence level. Depending on the types of errors, frequency of errors, and which sounds the child is having trouble with, a client may or may not qualify for therapy. #869-469-9750

22/11/2019

Stuttering is when speech is disrupted. These disruptions may also be referred to as “disfluencies.” Children may stutter if they have difficulty speaking or if they demonstrate hesitation or repetition of syllables, words, or phrases.
Children who may exhibit stuttering (i.e., repeating the same word or consonant sound at the beginning of an utterance).

Although it may not stop stuttering completely, treatment at any age aims to improve speech fluency, build the person's confidence, and help them participate in school, work, and social settings. A speech therapist can teach people to: slow down their rate of speech. notice when they stutter
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