Speech therapy is a treatment that focuses on the accurate production or movement across speech sounds to improve clarity and pronunciation. Speech sound disorders may include difficulty with Articulation (production of a few specific sounds), Phonological Processing Disorder (groups of sounds with similar error patterns) or Childhood Apraxia of Speech (difficulty with motor-planning and timing that affect accuracy in productions). Challenges with speech production may also occur due to poor function of the muscles in the mouth (oral-motor function). 

 

Also included within the umbrella of speech are fluency, resonance and voice.  A Fluency disorder, also known as stuttering, occurs when the flow of speech is interrupted by unusual stops, partial-word repetitions ("b-b-ball"), or prolonging sounds and syllables (bbbball).  Resonance or voice disorders occur when there are problems with the pitch, volume, or quality of the voice. 

 

Based on results of the evaluation, a customized therapy program is developed to treat your child’s speech disorder.  Guidance for home practice will be provided in order to ensure the best possible results.