Improving communication, cognition, feeding & swallowing can all start at very early ages. Whether you're looking for early intervention (0-3) facilitation for a child with a known medical diagnoses such as Down Syndrome or Cerebral Palsy; or you're concerned because your child isn't talking like others his age, early intervention speech language pathology can give the boost your child needs or keep him from experiencing more frustration. Intervention typically begins around 18 months of age, however for feeding or known developmental delays it can begin as soon as the problem is identified.
Preschool intervention (3-5) most typically involves those children who are not using age appropriate speech or language skills. Some common examples are not talking or not being understood by unfamiliar listeners. This age group is also where the children start to become aware of & frustrated by their lack of communication skill. Parents report behavior breakdowns (tantrums) or shut down. Fluency difficulties (stuttering) may become more apparent through these years.
School age intervention (5-16) may be a continuation of early difficulties such as articulation or developmental delays. This is the age group with whom we tend to begin treating specific conditions of the voice and tongue thrusting. Unique to this population are more subtle language disorders or delays in areas such as social language, auditory processing, memory, organization & reasoning. As students reach 3rd and 4th grades, learning becomes less hands on and more abstract and often these deficits become more debilitating and frustrating. We also know that this age group tends to have more social stigma and self esteem issues related to their difficulties. The good news is that this age group is also more actively involved in the therapy process and responds positively to intervention.