UPDATED 2/17/21
When people first think of speech therapy, they think the only children who can benefit from the practice are those who have trouble pronouncing certain letters or those who have a stuttering tendency. This, however, is not the case. A speech pathologist can help children who have a difficult time thinking of what to say in social situations or those who are having a difficult time with their social skills development such as finding it difficult to look anyone in the eye for prolonged periods of time, play skills, or understanding verbal tones and facial expressions.
As a parent, you know your child the best out of everyone else. So if you believe that your child is falling behind others in their social skills development, it is probably best to seek out a speech pathologist. While every child learns these skills at a different pace for different reasons, there are a few signs that your child may be falling behind. Some basic signs that you should seek out speech therapy for children are your child using fewer words than kids their age, people having difficulty understanding what your child is saying, your child showing frustration or getting teased for the way they talk, stuttering, or unusual or inappropriate interactions with other children.
You should know that there is nothing wrong with going to speech therapy. Think of speech therapy for children as enrolling your child in another form of school. A speech pathologist will grow your child’s social skills development and be able to know if your child needs auditory-verbal therapy or listening skill training based on if they have a speech and language disorder or one of the receptive language disorders.
A communication disorder can have a large impact on a child’s life if it continues to go unaddressed. Giving your child the tools necessary to speak clearly and be able to pick up on different verbal and non-verbal cues is very important for their social skills development that will lead them into adulthood. Even a mild disorder can make them isolated in class or hold them back from advancing in their classes or getting a grade that they deserve. You don’t want your child’s speech to hold them back from their dreams as they grow older, so don’t’ make the mistake of hoping that they will grow out of their speech impediment eventually or grow out of their shyness or awkwardness. Enroll them in speech therapy so that your child will have the tools they need to succeed early and for the rest of their lives.
Our children grow and learn at an amazing rate, they may learn how to do things, how to speak, and how to handle issues, but if they are having trouble communicating, it can be difficult for them to meet the milestones that they need to be meeting. Speech correction or speech therapy is a great first step. When you think your child might have problems with speech, you may be asking the questions, “how to help my child with speech therapy”, “how to improve my toddlers speech”, “how to start speech therapy” and even “how to help your child speak clearly?”
These are all very important questions, and with the help of your speech therapist, you can learn how to support your child through their speech therapy and also learn how to best help them utilize speech therapy and utilize the advice and teaching that they are being given. Speech therapy is a wonderful asset that can help your child to better communicate, how to talk and illustrate their thoughts, and also how to speak so that others can understand them. Paying close attention to how your child talks, what problems they may have, and even listening to their teachers can help you determine if speech therapy is right for them.
