Speech Therapy is an umbrella that encompasses a wide range of disorders including articulation, phonology, receptive and expressive language, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), pragmatics, fluency, motor speech disorders, swallowing, voice, cognition, and more. See below for more information about some of the more common reasons we see children for speech therapy:
- Articulation disorders. The patient has difficulty pronouncing certain sounds correctly. This often impacts how well they are understood by others.
- Phonological disorders. This speech disorder is characterized by patterns of sound errors, where one sound is consistently substituted for another.
- Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS). CAS falls under the umbrella of speech sound disorders, but is a breakdown in the motor planning of speech production. Children with CAS know what they want to say but have difficulty forming the correct sounds.
- Fluency disorders. These are characterized by interruptions in the normal flow of speech. Stuttering – an abnormal repetition or prolonging of sounds, syllables or words – is the most common fluency disorder. Cluttering is a less common fluency disorder.
- Voice disorders. These involve difficulties with pitch, volume or voice quality.
- Receptive Language. Understanding what is being said is a large part of communication. It includes understanding vocabulary, following directions, comprehending written language, and more.
- Expressive Language. Being able to let others know your thoughts in a clear, concise way is important. It includes the ability to use vocabulary appropriately and put words together in a way that makes sense.
- Pragmatics. Social interactions are a large part of life. They can include body language, facial expressions, how to respond when our emotions become heightened, and what to do if things don’t go our way.
- AAC. When using your voice isn’t something that is easy or possible, an AAC device may be a good option. By selecting words or pictures you can use a high-tech device to speak for you.
- Autism. Autistic children may present with various speech and/or language delays that SLPs specialize in.
Call Albuquerque Speech Language Hearing Center at (505) 247-4224 for more information or to schedule an appointment.