The Ins and Outs of Speech Therapy for Children

When you or a loved one gets a speech or language disorder diagnosis, it can be a highly emotional time. People can often have conflicting opinions about the benefits of speech therapy, even questioning if speech therapy works. At Lynne Alba Speech Therapy Solutions, we have hundreds of success stories with speech therapy helping children and adults surmount their speech difficulties. Through our experience, we have excellent insight into how to optimize your speech therapy experience.

 

Speech Therapy for Children

As with most medical relationships, there is nothing more important than a personality fit between the clinician, you, and your child. Referrals by trusted individuals can be highly beneficial, but not essential to a top-quality therapy partnership. In addition to the speech therapist, the primary care manager occupies a vital role in your child’s development. Of course, every child is different, as are their speech development needs and learning style. That’s why you should look for a therapy provider that caters to individual care and therapy.

 

 

General Speech Therapy Advice

One thing that all speech therapists need, whether they’re treating children or adults, is quality credentials. State and national certification in Speech and Language Pathology is a great indicator of professionalism, as is their license from the state of California. Current membership with the American Speech and Hearing Association is also a good sign. There are other qualifications that are valid, though, including a Masters’ and a temporary license. Any clinician with a Masters’ has still had clinical experience in multiple contexts, treating a variety of disorders. Make sure a therapist in this situation is in their CFY/RPE year (meaning Clinical Fellowship or Required Professional Experience year) and is being directly supervised by an attentive and fully licensed speech/language pathologist.

 

 

Finding the Right Match for You

Most disorders are labeled with ICD Codes (International Classification of Diseases). A good thing to ask when you’re talking to therapists you’re considering is what they think of the diagnosis, and if they have any printed materials detailing the treatment they would give. Ensure that both the therapist, and the clinic they work at, understands and is knowledgeable about the diagnosis you or your child has been given.

 

 

Specialist Help

A speech therapy clinic ought to be able to draw on a broad web of specialists to assist with the range of speech and language disorders that they could be presented with. After all, you or your family’s issue might be beyond the skill of just one speech therapist. Just a few of the specialists that any self-respecting clinic ought to be able to call on include pediatricians, neurologists (and pediatric neurologists), otorhinolaryngologists (ear, throat, and nose doctors), psychiatrists, child psychiatrists, psychologists, marriage and family counsellors, licensed clinical social workers, educational psychologists, and audiologists.

 

If you follow this advice when seeking a speech therapist, be it for yourself or your child, you are that much likelier to be successful in finding one that can make speech therapy work for you.