Warning Signs that May Mean Your Child Needs Speech Therapy

Being a parent or guardian may be the most rewarding role you'll ever play in your lifetime. Parenthood can also be the most challenging and nerve-wracking thing you’ll ever do as well. Whether you have one child or five children, no two children develop on the same timeline.

Some children hit milestones, such as crawling, walking, and talking, right on schedule, while others are late bloomers but are healthy. In this blog, the highly skilled team of speech and language pathologists at High Quality Home Therapy shares their insights on the warning signs that may mean your child needs speech therapy.

How communication happens

Let’s get started by first taking a deep dive into how communication and language happen. Not surprisingly, it’s all about the brain. The way a healthy brain works is that brain cells called neurons send a message to the large part of the brain, called the frontal lobe. The left section of the frontal lobe, named Broca’s area, houses speech and language functions.

The part of the frontal lobe which controls voluntary muscle movement, called the motor cortex, then swings into action. Motor cortex brain cells relay signals to the spinal cord, which in turn translates into muscle movement in the face, mouth, tongue, throat, and lips, enabling the formation of sounds and words. 

Everything works like a seamlessly choreographed movement unless an issue in the orofacial muscles or an injury, brain trauma, or stroke happens.

Symptoms that may signal speech or language issues

As a parent or caregiver, it’s natural to compare how your child’s development stacks up with other children of similar age. Try to resist that temptation since every child develops at a different rate. Instead, look for these symptoms that may show that your child needs speech therapy.

Stuttering or stretching out syllables

Some stuttering is normal for a short time, especially for young children. If your child’s stuttering does not go away or if your child prolongs sounds or stretches out syllables so the words aren’t recognizable, it’s a good idea to bring them in for an evaluation.

Mixing up sounds

When your child is learning new words, they initially have problems distinguishing between the sounds of certain letters. But if your child constantly has issues pronouncing certain letters to where the words aren't understandable, there may be a speech or language issue brewing. Trust your instincts. You know your child better than anyone else.

Having issues stringing words together

Similarly, difficulties mastering using many words may signal a problem. In these cases, you may also notice that your child isolates themselves from other children in social situations. Sometimes, when children struggle with understanding what the words mean, it’s simply easier for them to withdraw from social interactions. If your child isn’t super shy, take this as a sign that they may need speech therapy.

Begin the process with a speech evaluation

If your child has a speech or language issue, you are not alone. About 55.2% of American children ages 3-17 with a speech, language, voice, or swallowing disorder receive intervention services annually. The speech therapy process begins with a comprehensive speech evaluation or assessment.

The goal of the evaluation is to gather data to create the patient’s speech therapy treatment plan. A licensed speech therapist performs several steps, including:

• Examining the patient’s mouth and face
• Reviewing the patient’s family and medical history
• Conducting a series of diagnostics to gauge the patient’s ability to understand, speak clearly, and respond to instructions

Your provider may conduct a hearing test to rule out whether an underlying hearing issue is part of the equation.

Your provider creates a personalized treatment plan using the speech evaluation findings. At High Quality Home Therapy, we offer services to address speech and communication challenges, such as executive function, language and comprehension, social and emotional development, and oral motor functioning.

We know that patients often respond differently to therapy, depending on the setting. In addition to one-on-one speech therapy sessions, we conduct social skills groups to help patients practice and learn communication skills. Our commitment to our patients doesn’t stop when the treatment plan concludes.

Our compassionate speech therapists connect with patients, family members, or caregivers after a treatment plan has ended to check in on progress and ensure lasting outcomes. We also offer educational training and programming to caregivers and educators.

If you think your child may have speech or language skill problems, schedule an appointment for speech therapy evaluation at High Quality Home Therapy in Stamford, Connecticut. Use our online booking feature or call us today to schedule an appointment.