Speech Pathology

Speech Pathology services may include:

Formal Assessments

Receptive and Expressive Language
CELF-5 (5ys-21yrs)
PLS-5 (6 months-7yrs)
Pragmatic Assessment to assist in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis
TOPL-2 (7yrs-18yrs)
The Pragmatic Profile of Every Day Communication (parent Interview) (pre-school and school aged children)
Speech sound assessment.
Phonological awareness assessment.

Therapy

Further details below
Articulation, speech sound disorders .
Language development therapy – receptive and expressive language
Stuttering Therapy – Lidcombe and ‘Smooth speech
Literacy therapy – Phonological therapy for early literacy, reading, spelling, comprehension.
Social communication – social skills , ‘Social Thinking’ therapy and ‘Zones of Regulation’.
Play development therapy

What do we provide therapy for?

Articulation

The development of speech sounds is crucial to each child’s ability to be understood by others. The development of speech sounds moves through ages and stages. Our Speech Pathologists can determine if your child’s speech skills are age-appropriate, and provide intervention where skills are compromised. Therapy is provided from issues as simple as simple sound errors at preschool age including ‘lisps’ to complex speech difficulties including cleft palate and Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS).

Receptive Language/Language Comprehension

In order for children to succeed in communication, they require age-appropriate language comprehension skills. This includes: an ability to understand a range of sentence types such as statements, questions and directions, a range of concept words including: location concept words ( such as: in, on, under, behind), sequence concept words (such as: first, next, last, beginning, end), time concept words (such as: before, after, then) and condition concept words (such as: if, when, until).  Children may have problems following conversations and instructions at home and school. Our Speech Pathologists can determine if your child’s language comprehension skills are age-appropriate, and provide intervention where skills are compromised.

Language Expression

In order for children to succeed in communication, they require age-appropriate language expression skills. This allows them to express themselves using sufficient information, logical sequencing, correct sentence structures and grammatical forms. Children with difficulties in this area may have difficulties expressing their needs and engaging in conversations with adults and peers. Our Speech Pathologists can determine if your child’s expressive language skills are age-appropriate, and provide intervention where skills are compromised.

Fluency/Stuttering

If your child is heading to school or begun school with a stutter please contact a Lidcombe trained speech pathologist ASAP.

LIDCOMBE

Our speech therapists are trained LIDCOMBE TRANINED providers. The Lidcombe program is an Australian developed, highly effective therapy for younger children with a developmental stutter. This will, in a majority of cases, completely ‘fix’ the stuttering issue.

SMOOTH SPEECH

We also have ‘Smooth speech’ trained therapists.

Beyond 7 years it is necessary to begin to incorporate some ‘Smooth Speech’ techniques into the therapy to help gain control of the stutter. Success ranges from no ongoing stutter to a limited but an under control stutter.

Voice

Children may present with voice conditions such as vocal fold nodules, or voice quality which is harsh or whispery. They may not be aware of appropriate voice use; using voice which is too quiet or loud for particular contexts. Through behaviour modification, our Speech Pathologists can bring about positive changes in vocal behaviours. In some instances, medical follow up is required by an Ear Nose and Throat (E.N.T.) specialist, and a referral through your General Practitioner will be necessary.

Phonological Awareness

Phonological Awareness refers to a child’s awareness of sounds and their relationship to the letters in words for early reading and spelling. Our Speech Pathologists can provide intervention targeting your child’s knowledge of the sounds they hear in words including: initial, medial and final sounds, syllables or chunks of words, word rhyme and sound manipulation. This knowledge assists children in early decoding and spelling for literacy.

At higher grade level literacy needs to incorporate comprehension of reading materials and ability to complete writing tasks efficiently. Our speech pathologists can assist with older children to build skills and bridge gaps in all literacy areas.

Social Communication/Skills

The way we use our language for social communication is important for developing and maintaining relationships with others. Communication is far more than talking and listening and many children who may be able to ‘do ok’ on a formal language assessment can still have profound communication difficulties.

The way we use our language for social communication is important for maintaining relationships with others. Your child may struggle with social communication skills such as: eye-contact, personal space, turn-taking, initiating interaction or understanding other’s communication needs. Our speech pathologists can target your child’s social needs from social skills therapy for medium to lower functioning ASD and socially impaired children, through to ‘Social Thinking’ therapy for high functioning socially ‘awkward’ children and adolescents such as those with an ADHD or Aspergers diagnosis.

For more information or to book an appointment please call 0474 002 044