JackieSymons
S P E E C H – L A N G U A G E T H E R A P I S T
Offering private speech and language therapy services
Providing assessments and therapy in the following areas:
Speech difficulties
It is normal for children to make speech sound errors when learning to talk, but there is a developmental age by which each speech sound is usually mastered. When children don't reach these developmental norms, their speech can be difficult to understand leading to frustrations. An assessment can determine if the child has an articulation delay, phonological delay, speech sound disorder or childhood apraxia of speech. It can also determine if the child is likely to outgrow his/her speech error(s) or if intervention is required.
Language delays and disorders
Children can have difficulty with receptive language (their understanding of language) and/or expressive language (their ability to use words to express themselves). Speech Language Therapists look at the child's vocabulary (semantics), sentence structure (syntax) as well as their social use of language (pragmatics) in order to get a full understanding of the child's abilities. Age-appropriate language skills form the foundation for all aspects of schooling and it is important that language difficulties are identified early and that appropriate intervention is received.
Auditory processing difficulties
Auditory processing refers to the brain's ability to process what the ears have heard. Some children struggle to remember what they have heard, to process speech in noisy environments and to sound out words or blend sounds together to form words while reading and spelling. These are all symptoms of auditory processing difficulties. Speech Language Therapists can test and treat a variety of auditory processing, language processing and phonological processing skills. We also work in conjunction with Audiologists to diagnose Auditory Processing Disorder.
Literacy difficulties
Literacy (or written language) is built on the foundation of verbal language abilities. Phonological awareness, which is an awareness that words are made up of sounds, is an important building block in literacy development and is the best predictor of reading success. Many children with reading and spelling difficulties, including Dyslexia, have delays in phonological awareness and letter-sound correspondence. Speech Language Therapists can assess these underlying skills and provide therapy to improve them.
Stuttering
Stuttering refers to a disruption in the forward flow of speech and can affect people of all ages. There are three main types of dysfluencies, namely repetitions, prolongations and blocks. Many children go through stages of dysfluency when learning to talk, but if these dysfluencies are severe, persist for longer than 6 months or are accompanied by physical tension, then a Speech Language Therapist should be consulted as soon as possible. Individuals who stutter can receive treatment at any age, although early intervention is usually best.
