As we all know, every kid is unique and develops at their own pace. Some kids may begin speaking late, others may struggle to understand what you're saying, may struggle to pronounce words, or struggle with social pragmatic language skills. If you're concerned that your child's speech and language development isn't progressing as it should, schedule a speech evaluation with our speech pathologist in Phoenix at Simply Psychology, LLC right away to ensure your child gets the treatment they require. Early intervention is important.
This blog post will tell you about the symptoms that might indicate your child requires a speech and language evaluation, and the steps you can take to make that happen.
What is a Speech Evaluation?
Speech evaluations may be required for childhood speech abnormalities or adult speech difficulties caused by an injury or disease, such as a stroke or brain injury. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs), also known as speech therapists, administer the evaluating procedure. They perform different measuring approaches to identify speech communication problems and prescribe and deliver special treatment. Depending on the type of speech or language issue, these may include articulation therapy, speech therapy, language intervention exercises, and other approaches.
When is a Speech Evaluation Needed?
If you notice any of these communication disorders in your child, you will need to seek an assessment from a speech therapist:
Receptive Impairment
A receptive language impairment affects a kid's ability to understand and absorb what other people say. When someone speaks, your child may appear inattentive, have difficulty following instructions, or have a restricted vocabulary. A receptive language impairment issue can be caused by other language disorders, such as autism, hearing loss, or a brain injury.
Fluency Impairment
The flow, pace, and rhythm of speaking are all affected by fluency. Fluency impairments include stuttering and cluttering. A kid who stutters has difficulty making a sound, and their speech may be hindered or halted, or they may repeat parts of a word. Kids who clutter tend to speak quickly and mash words together, making it difficult to understand what they are saying.
Expression Impairment
The inability of your child to convey or articulate knowledge is known as expressive language impairment. Your child may have problems generating proper sentences if they have an expressive disorder, such as employing the wrong verb tense or telling you about their day
Articulation Impairment
The inability to appropriately create specific word sounds is known as an articulation impairment. This speech problem causes kids to drop, switch, distort, or add word sounds. Saying "thith" instead of "this" is an example of word distortion and an articulation impairment.
Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder ( SCD)
SCD refers to one’s difficulty with verbal and nonverbal communication for social purposes that cannot be explained by another disorder such as Autism Spectrum Disorder or low cognitive ability.
Children with SCD have trouble with starting and ending conversations, staying on topic, and may also have lagging academic skills related to reading comprehension and writing.
What To Do Next? | Speech Pathologist in Phoenix
A Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) is the first professional you should speak to about your kid's difficulty speaking or language learning disability. The pathologist will talk to you about your child's growth and symptoms before administering some tests to confirm whether they have speech and language problems. Speaking and comprehension tests, reading and writing tests, and assessments based on play and social interactions are all examples of tests administered. Their hearing and cognitive abilities may be evaluated as well.
Following the speech evaluation, your speech pathologist will inform you of their findings and give recommendations for various therapies that can be employed to help your child's language learning disabilities. If you're looking for a children's speech therapist in Phoenix for your child, you can schedule an appointment with us at Simply Psychology, LLC or contact us at 602-428-2838.