SPEECH THERAPY
Speech Therapy in Charleston, South Carolina
Spoken Word Children’s Therapy Speech Language Pathology teams will work with you and your child to evaluate and treat an extensive array of speech and language disorders using evidence-based treatment techniques.
Our evaluation and treatments include, but are not limited to: expressive and receptive language disorders, articulation and phonological disorders, cognitive skills such as problem solving and reasoning skills, feeding and swallowing and oral motor delays, augmentative communication, and behavioral management.
Understanding Speech and Language Disorders
Speech is how we say sounds and words. People with speech problems may:
Not say sounds clearly
Have a hoarse or raspy voice
Repeat sounds or pause when speaking, called stuttering
Language is the words we use to share ideas and get what we want. A person with a language disorder may have problems:
Understanding
Talking
Reading
Writing
Areas of Specialty
Our speech language pathologists are trained to evaluate and provide
treatment that includes, but is not limited to, the following areas:
Expressive and Receptive Language Disorders
Receptive and expressive communication are two different components of language. Listening and comprehending what is spoken is the receptive component of language while the ability to express oneself while communicating with others is the expressive component of language. A child can have a delay or disorder in one or both of these components of language.
Augmentative and Alternative Communications
Autism Spectrum Disorders affect a person’s communication, social skills and behavior. A child with ASD often has particular sensory needs (e.g. reactions to certain sounds or touch) and may demonstrate behaviors that are atypical for children his/her age (including rocking or flapping).
Autism Spectrum Disorders
Autism Spectrum Disorders affect a person’s communication, social skills and behavior. A child with ASD often has particular sensory needs (e.g. reactions to certain sounds or touch) and repetitive behaviors (including rocking or flapping).
Feeding and Swallowing Disorders
Think about how you eat. You first have to get the food or drink to your mouth. You may use a fork, spoon, straw, or your hands to do so. You then have to open your mouth and take the food in. You close your lips to keep the food in your mouth. You then chew the food or move the liquid to get ready to swallow. Children may have delays in one or more of these different phases during feeding. They may also demonstrate heightened texture sensitivity to certain foods and textures while eating and refuse to eat certain foods due to this texture sensitivity.
Getting Started
Referral Requirements, Forms, & Information
Meet
Our Team
Oral Motor Delays
If your child is having trouble controlling her mouth muscles to talk and eat, and doesn’t seem able to master chewing, blowing, or making specific sounds, she may have an oral motor disorder. While these are physical issues, they can have a neurological component.
Articulation and Phonological Delays
Are you concerned that your child isn’t speaking as clearly as it seems he should be by the age he is? The physical ability to speak clearly, or articulate, develops at different rates in different children, but some children do end up lagging behind for various reasons.
Childhood Apraxia Speech
To speak, messages need to go from your brain to your mouth. These messages tell the muscles how and when to move to make sounds. If your child has apraxia of speech, the messages do not get through correctly. Your child might not be able to move his lips or tongue to the right place to say sounds, even though his muscles are not weak. Sometimes, he might not be able to say much at all.
Behavior Management in Speech Therapy
Our therapist use behavior-management strategies and techniques to change or eliminate unwanted behavior and to encourage desirable behavior in children.