5 Signs Your Child Needs Speech Therapy

Posted on July 17 2018

5 Signs Your Child Needs Speech Therapy

Common problems in school-age children and when a therapist can help.

Stuttering is one of the signs your child needs speech therapy.

While every child develops at a different rate, some may need a little extra help with speech, reading, writing, and spelling. If you’ve noticed your child struggling in these areas, a speech therapist may be able to help. Here are a few signs your child needs speech therapy:

  1. Stammering and stuttering
  2. Delayed phonological awareness or dyslexia
  3. Reading comprehension problems
  4. Uses inaccurate vocabulary
  5. Reading fluency difficulty

Let’s dive deeper into each of these five signs your child may need speech therapy.

 1. Stammering and stuttering

Stammering and stuttering occur when the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions, words, phrases, and/or silent pauses. If your child displays these signs, speech therapy can help reduce interruptions in their speech and improve their confidence. A speech therapist can also help control your child’s speech patterns by monitoring their rate of speech and breath support.

Learn more ways to help your child overcome stuttering here.

 2. Delayed phonological awareness or dyslexia

A set of skills that children usually develop in pre-school in preparation for reading are referred to as phonological awareness. These skills help children understand the sounds that make up works and how they can be changed to create different words. They also include rhyming, segmenting, and blending words. If your child has trouble with phonological awareness, they may also have dyslexia. Characterized by reversing letters and words, poor spelling, and challenges with decoding, dyslexia can often stem from the phonological component of language. If your child is showing these signs, speech therapists are trained to address phonological awareness problems and dyslexia.

Discover 4 practical dyslexia reading tips and tools here.

3. Reading comprehension problems

The ability to process text, understand its meaning, and integrate it with existing knowledge is defined as reading comprehension. Your child may need speech therapy to enhance their reading comprehension skills if they are confused by the meaning of words, cannot connect ideas in a passage, omit or gloss over details, or find it difficult to concentrate when reading. A speech therapist can help your child improve comprehension so they can enjoy reading more.

Use these tips for making reading fun for your child here.

4. Uses inaccurate vocabulary

Sometimes, children believe one word has multiple meanings. For example, if your child uses the word “in” or “on” interchangeably or instead of the word “under,” they may have trouble with vocabulary. A speech therapist can help them understand the correct usage of their most commonly confused words and improve their confidence in their reading abilities.

Learn how to build a confident reader with these tips for building your child’s skills.

5. Reading fluency difficulty

The ability to read quickly, accurately, and with expression is known as reading fluency. If you or your child’s teacher has noticed your child takes more time to complete reading assignments than other children or they read word-by-word rather than grouping them into meaningful phrases, speech therapy could be an invaluable resource to improve fluency.

Find out how the Toobaloo whisper phone works to enhance fluency at home or school here.

At your child’s first speech therapy session, expect an assessment of your child’s difficulties and a curriculum plan for working with them in a one-on-one or small group environment. They may implement language activities such as playing, talking, and using pictures, books, or objects to stimulate language development. Or they may model correct sounds and syllables, and use articulation therapy and a variety of speech therapy tools for kids.

These examples are just a few of the signs your child needs speech therapy. If you think your child could benefit from the help of a licensed therapist, talk to your child’s teacher to obtain a recommendation. For more information about our educational reading and speech therapy tools for kids and toddlers, shop our collection online today or call customer service at (877) 819-2541.

Related Content

The Basics of Speech Therapy

Speech Therapy Tools to Help Kids Read

Questions to Ask Your SLP About Speech Therapy Tools for Kids

Teacher Tell-All About Our Educational Speech Therapy and Reading Tools

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