Pediatric speech therapy

Treating childhood speech problems to help kids express themselves fully

Speech is one of the prominent milestones of development – from first words to a how a child talks with others.

Pediatric speech therapy is effective in helping children who have speech communication challenges.

At RUSH Kids Pediatric Therapy, you’ll encounter some of the best speech experts working with kids today. Called speech-language pathologists, they offer treatment that’s personalized for each child.

Speech and communication disorders are common in the U.S. They include two primary aspects:

1. How a child speaks (expressive language)
2. How a child understand what’s being spoken (receptive language)

Correcting speech and communication disorders as early as possible is important to develop strong language skills. It’s also import so that the child can be understood by others and interact socially.

If you’ve noticed any early signals that might have you wondering if your child could have a potential speech problem, a visit to RUSH Kids Pediatric Therapy can help.

Our team also has expertise in evaluating and treating associative disorders related to feeding and swallowing. This can potentially affect good nutritional intake that supports healthy growth.

The speech-language therapy program here at RUSH Kids can assess, diagnose and help improve many speech issues.

Here’s a list of some of the most common issues and how they impact a child’s speech:

• Apraxia and other motor speech disorders  — impairment in muscle coordination that enables speech
• Articulation disorders — difficulty producing speech sounds
• Auditory processing disorders — problem with the mechanics of hearing that disrupts how a child understands what they are hearing; this is not associated with hearing loss or deafness
• Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) — challenges with using verbal communication
• Cognitive and attention impairments —problems with articulation, fluency and tone of voice
• Craniofacial anomalies including cleft lip and palate — articulation, speech patterns and speaking clearly
• Delayed speech or “late talkers” — saying simple words, phrases and speaking short sentences within age-related milestones
• Executive functioning — lack of skill in organizing and planning that may stem from difficulty with language comprehension or communication
• Stuttering/fluency disorders — the flow of speech is interrupted
• Genetic syndromes such as Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome and Prader-Willi syndrome — speech and language delay, along with varying degrees of difficulty with articulation and speech development
• Hearing impairments — speech fluency and clarity; difficulty with listening skills
• Neurological disorders like cerebral palsy, stroke and brain injury — speech and swallow difficulty as well as unclear articulation, difficulty finding words and expressing thoughts
• Phonological disorders — the misuse of certain speech sounds or the inability to produce correct sounds
• Reasoning and memory disorders — inability to retain information needed for word recall and fluency when speaking
• Social pragmatic communication disorders  — difficulty with verbal and non-verbal communication needed for social behavior, like making friends, correct use of gestures and responding to others

Professional treatment and care is critical for a child who is experiencing any type of communication challenge.

RUSH Kids can help your child develop better speech, social skills and interaction behavior stemming from speech difficulties.