Language Therapy supports how a child develops their understanding and use of language, all the way from using a single sound to telling a story. Therapy supports the child’s ability to follow directions and improve how they express their wants, needs, and ideas. The best way to support a child’s language development is in their everyday environment. In-home therapy services can help bridge the gap between therapy and “real life” quickly.

Some common signs or language difficulties include difficulty understanding or following instructions, limited vocabulary for their age, struggles forming sentences or expressing thoughts, frequent misuse of words or grammar, challenges engaging in conversations, and trouble with social interactions. Additionally, they might have difficulty in school, particularly in subjects requiring more complex language skills, such as reading and writing. Early identification and intervention are key to addressing language delays and disorders effectively.

Articulation therapy supports children who have difficulty learning to produce age-appropriate speech sounds and coordinate them together in words and sentences. Therapy works to help children who get easily frustrated because others can’t understand them, children who just have one or two sounds they can’t quite learn on their own, and everyone in between.

Children typically acquire speech sounds between the ages of 2-7. As they move from simple sounds to more complex, they can sometimes get stuck along the way. For example, they might simplify words or sounds according to a specific pattern, called phonological processes, such as always substituting /t/ for /k/ (“tar” for “car”). This is completely normal as children are learning; however, sometimes a child continues using these patterns longer than they should, and benefits from extra support to improve their speech development.

Other children might have trouble coordinating the muscles of their mouth to say and connect sounds clearly, which is considered a motor speech disorder. An example is childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). CAS makes it hard for kids to plan and carry out the movements needed for speech. It can cause speech to be inconsistent and hard to understand.

Luckily, with the right intervention approach, kids with articulation challenges can learn to improve their intelligibility and communicate clearly.

Feeding skills are crucial for your child's growth, starting from breastfeeding or bottle-feeding to eating many foods with complex textures and tastes. Feeding therapy supports children as they learn how to eat developmentally-appropriate foods. Common feeding skills addressed in therapy include a child’s ability to self-feed , chewing, drinking from cups and straws, and managing new food textures. This involves working with your child to improve oral motor skills, making it easier for them to eat and drink safely. Feeding therapy also supports the many transitions that a child goes through as they develop their skills. Examples include moving from pureed foods to solid foods, or from chewing simple solids (i.e. crackers) to complex solids (i.e. sandwiches). By addressing feeding challenges early on, meal and snack times can become successful and positive for the whole family.

Myofunctional therapy works to increase the function of the jaw, lips, and tongue, with the specific goal to improve the resting posture of the tongue inside the mouth for nasal breathing. This small change can have big effects on a variety of issues your child may be facing, such as tongue thrust (when the tongue pushes against the teeth while swallowing), open-mouth breathing posture, sleep disturbances, feeding difficulties, speech intelligibility, and more. A typical therapy session includes learning and mastering exercises along with a home exercise program that is necessary to support goals for change.

Myofunctional therapy is also an important part of the process for managing tongue and lip tie releases. Completing the therapy protocol both before and after the release will promote optimal healing and benefit from the procedure.

Targeting cognition after a brain injury or concussion is beneficial for individuals as it focuses on improving cognitive skills and related functional abilities needed for daily life. This type of therapy targets tasks like managing finances, cooking, or memory skills needed for daily routines, which may have been impacted by the injury. By incorporating functional activities into therapy sessions, an individual can begin to regain independence and confidence in performing these essential tasks. This approach ensures that therapy directly translates to real-life situations, empowering a person to navigate daily challenges more effectively. If you've experienced a brain injury or concussion, seeking out cognitive therapy that targets functional activities of daily living can significantly enhance your recovery and quality of life.

Parent coaching during early intervention provides you with a supportive guide on your journey to help your child's language development flourish. Through personalized sessions, parents are provided with practical strategies and tips tailored to the child's needs, empowering parents to become confident advocates for their child's communication skills. Parents learn fun and engaging activities to incorporate into daily routines that promote speech and language development. Parent coaching happens simultaneously with speech and language therapy, so they can easily carry over skills learned during therapy into their everyday routines.