Why is Pediatric Speech Therapy Important?

Imagine what your life be like if you couldn’t communicate with your family and friends. Even more critical, what if you couldn’t communicate with a stranger if you were lost or in the middle of a crisis? Imagine then what it is like for a child who can’t communicate their wants, needs and fears to another. If you feel your child is falling behind with expressive language or receptive understanding, compared to same aged peers, then you should consider seeking the assistance of a speech-language pathologist.

Speech language pathologists, sometimes called speech therapists, are specifically trained and credentialed to assess, diagnose, treat, and help prevent disorders related to language, cognition, speech production, communication, voice, fluency, feeding and swallowing.

If you suspect your child is falling behind in language development, it is important to investigate further by contacting a speech-language pathologist or by seeking a referral to a speech-language pathologist through your pediatrician. According to the National Research Council, speech therapy should start as early as possible and be frequent in intensity if a child has a speech or language disorder.

A speech language pathologist will complete a full assessment, and if your child has a disorder within the scope of practice for speech-language pathology, a detailed treatment plan will be developed. For children, it is important to have consistent attendance for speech therapy to be most effective and the speech language pathologist should include the family in speech therapy for some part of treatment to demonstrate to the family how to increase carryover of new skills into the home or community.

Speech therapy should be fun for your child! Ideally, a young child will feel like they are playing, but a skilled observer will realize that many treatment goals and communication strategies are built into each speech therapy session!

Good news for some families it that speech therapy can be covered under some insurance policies and is also covered by Medicaid.