Speech Therapy | Fairfield, Westport & Wallingford, CT | Center for Pediatric Therapy
Darien: (203) 424-2584
Fairfield: (203) 255-3669
Wallingford: (203) 949-9337

Speech Language Therapy

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Speech Therapy Sessions
for Darien, Fairfield, and Wallingford, CT

We’re glad that you have taken the first step in understanding your child’s speech and language difficulties. We hope that this page answers some of your questions. Please remember that you know your child best and if you think something is not right, then something is not right. As you look over the information on this page, please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of further assistance.

Areas a Speech Pathologist Can Treat

A little bit about speech and language therapy for children: Speech-language pathology is the treatment for the improvement or correction of a communication disorder. Some of the areas a speech-language pathologist treats include articulation disorders, fluency disorders (such as stuttering), voice disorders, difficulty with pragmatics, and swallowing disorders.

Articulation disorders arise when a child has difficulties producing and forming sounds. Omissions, substitutions, and distortions are the most common types of errors. Omissions are when a child omits a sound or leaves a sound out of a word (“da” instead of dog); substitutions occur when a child substitutes one sound for another (“gog” instead of dog); distortions occur when a child distorts a sound in a word. Listeners may have trouble understanding what someone with a speech disorder is trying to say.

A language disorder is an impairment in the ability to understand and/or use words in context, both verbally and nonverbally. Some characteristics of a language disorder include improper use of words and their meanings, inability to express ideas, inappropriate grammatical patterns, reduced vocabulary, and/or an inability to follow directions. Children may hear or see a word but not be able to understand its meaning. They may have trouble getting others to understand what they are trying to communicate.

Receptive language refers to the skills involved in understanding language. Receptive language also affects language use. For example, the child may have trouble understanding question forms or certain concept words. This causes the child to respond inappropriately to a question or have difficulty staying on the topic of conversation.

Expressive language refers to the skills of being precise, complete, and clear when expressing thoughts and feelings, answering questions, relating events, and carrying on a conversation.

A child’s communication is considered delayed when the child is noticeably behind his or her peers in the acquisition of speech and/or language skills.

Voice and Feeding disorders; and How Speech Therapy Can Help

A voice disorder is related to the quality of the vocal production such as pitch, loudness, resonance, and duration. A person with a voice disorder may have difficulty maintaining sound production when speaking, may have a “raspy” sounding voice, or may not be able to vary his/her pitch or loudness. In contrast, a fluency disorder is defined by an interruption in the flow of speech. A person may produce a sound, syllable word, or phrase, multiple times, or may have a block when the speech is halted in the middle of a syllable, word, or phrase. Secondary behaviors may accompany a fluency disorder such as apparent struggling or tension when speaking.

Difficulty with pragmatics indicates that a child has difficulty with social language. The child may not understand the “unspoken” rules of communication, such as: using language for a variety of purposes (greeting, requesting, commenting), changing language according to the situation (talking differently to different people or providing necessary background information), or following rules for conversation and storytelling (maintaining/changing topics, eye contact, personal space).

Feeding or swallowing disorders can occur when a child has difficulty with the process of sucking, chewing, or swallowing foods. Some examples of a swallowing disorder can include requiring a long time to eat (more than 30 minutes), refusing to try different textures, less than normal weight gain, and difficulty chewing. A speech-language pathologist can evaluate and recommend specific swallowing strategies or exercises, diet consistency modifications, or positioning changes.

Contact Our Speech Pathologist Today

If you are beginning to notice your child is struggling with eating and swallowing or basic communication skills, we welcome you to contact us today. At the Center for Pediatric Therapy, our highly trained speech pathologist will help evaluate and determine the right type of speech therapy and/or feeding therapy for your son or daughter. We take pride in supporting children throughout Darien, Fairfield, Westport, Wallingford, CT, and the surrounding communities.

Also see FAQ page for more information

Questions about Speech and Language Therapy:

What is Feeding or Oral Motor Therapy?
There can be many reasons why a child may have feeding or oral motor difficulties.  For some children, coordinated movements of the muscles around the mouth (tongue, cheeks, lips), is difficult. These difficulties can interfere with safe management of food in the mouth.  Or the child could be defensive to certain food textures and tastes.  Depending on the primary area of concern (sensory or motor/muscles), the speech language pathologist or occupational therapist can help.
What does a speech language pathologist do?
A speech language pathologist is a licensed and certified professional that corrects communication disorders. This can range from articulation deficits, auditory/language processing difficulties, expressive and receptive language difficulties,  neurological dysfunction, fluency issues such as stuttering, feeding and swallowing concerns, and oral motor issues.
What is a speech language evaluation?
A speech and language evaluation includes parent interview, analysis of the child’s developmental history, clinical observations and administration of standardized tests if appropriate.  This evaluation provides baseline data and outlines a child’s specific areas of concern, which are then used to develop an appropriate plan for intervention.
Will my child grow out of his speech problem?
Unfortunately, there isn’t one simple answer to this question.  Certain language difficulties may be typical for your child’s current age, while other concerns may not be typical. Therefore, it would be important to speak with a speech language pathologist directly regarding the specific areas of concern.
Does my child need therapy?
Unfortunately, there isn’t one simple answer to this question.  Certain language difficulties may be typical for your child’s current age, while other concerns may not be typical. Therefore, it would be important to speak with a speech language pathologist directly regarding your specific areas of concern. It’s most appropriate for your child to be evaluated to determine if therapy would be appropriate.
When should I start therapy with my child?
Early intervention is essential to reaching optimal progress in the shortest period of time. Therefore, if your child has been evaluated and your therapist recommends services, starting therapy right away is best.
What should I tell my child about why we are coming?
Therapy is often fun for the child.  Our clinicians use a play-based approach for all intervention plans.  Depending on the type of therapy your child is receiving, you can share with your child that he is going to play.  Examples of what your child will be doing include getting to swing, crash in the ball pit, jump on the trampoline, walk on the balance beam, play talking games, color/draw, or set up fun obstacle courses.  If your child asks why, you can share that he is coming to help him say his words more clearly, move his body in a more coordinated manner, get stronger muscles, and/or hold the pencil correctly.

What are my next steps?

Please see Getting Started or Contact Us if you would like to set up an evaluation.