What is Speech Therapy?
At Northwest Pediatric Therapy, speech therapists work with children from birth to age 21 on an individual, one-on-one basis, to overcome difficulties involved with specific communication and/or feeding disorders.
Our therapists provide speech therapy in the clinic, homes (if medically necessary), and daycares/ preschools. Our motto is "A child at play is a child at work", therefore, therapy sessions are centered around functional play activities but structured by the individual therapist depending on what the child's needs are.
Who provides Speech Therapy?
Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) -- also referred to as speech therapists -- are professionals educated in the study of human communication, its development, and its disorders. SLPs at Northwest Pediatric Therapy have at least a master's degree and state certification, as well as a certificate of clinical competency from the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA).
Why Speech Therapy?
Your child may need therapy if he or she exhibits one or more of the following:
Speech Disorders
- Childhood Apraxia of Speech
- Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders: Tongue Thrust
- Speech Sound Disorders: Articulation and Phonological Processes
- Fluency Disorders: Stuttering
- Voice Problems
- Unintelligible Speech
Language Disorders
- Receptive and/or Expressive Language Disorders
- Language Based Learning Disorders
- Selective Mutism
Medical and Developmental Conditions
- ADD/ADHD
- Autism
- Cerebral Palsy
- Cleft Lip/Cleft Palate
- Down Syndrome
- Developmental Delays
- Failure to Thrive
- Prematurity
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Other Genetic-Based Disorders
When Should Therapy Begin?
Research has found that the EARLY identification of speech and language disorders can prevent future problems with learning, reading, behavior, as well as a child's success academically, communicatively, and socially when the child enters school.
Children enrolled in therapy early in their development (before 3 years of age) generally have better outcomes than those who begin therapy later. Children older than 3 years tend to make progress at a slower rate.
