Childhood Apraxia & Speech Therapy Centre provides speech-language therapy to children of all ages. Speech Therapy is intended to improve how a child says their verbal message or to improve how clearly they pronounce their sounds when speaking. Sometimes called “articulation therapy,” it includes helping younger children just starting out with speech right through to older children who might need help with one or two later developing sounds. Speech therapy is what most people think of when they hear what a Speech-Language Pathologist (or Therapist) does – therapy to target a tricky “r” sound or lisped “s” are common needs. But speech therapy can also address fast talking, mumbled speech, sound distortions and errors, and self-confidence/esteem concerns with unclear speech.
As Speech-Language Pathologists, we can also conduct Language Therapy. This might include helping children meet milestones around their vocabulary, sentence structures, their understanding of what others say, or use of social language.
In addition, we now offer an auditory-verbal therapy approach to speech and language development for children with permanent hearing loss.
Childhood Apraxia & Speech Therapy Centre does not subscribe to the “wait and see” approach. If you are concerned about how your child sounds when they speak, or are unsure about errors you might be hearing, we’d love to help. We can assess your child’s speech sound development typically in just one session, and give you peace of mind before you leave – whether your child is within the range of typical sound development or might need some therapy to get on track. We will provide you with a clear action plan including cost and time estimates so you can rest assured that you are in good hands and, importantly, that you feel in control of the situation.
During a speech-language therapy assessment, your child will be asked to say certain sets of words, and sometimes sentences, while looking at various objects and/or books with their Therapist. As their parents, you will also be involved in answering background health and history questions that allow us to make the best possible clinical decisions for your family. Different games and activities will also be used to help make you and your child feel comfortable during our time together.
Speech-language therapy often looks like playtime to the untrained eye; the Therapist uses engaging activities in naturalistic play settings to help build a relationship with the child before challenging them with difficult speech-language therapy tasks. Even when working hard, most children will not realize they’re doing more than “playing” with their “speech teacher.”
