Speech Therapy for Kids Can Improve Self-Esteem, Prepare Them for School, and Much More!
David’s story illustrates the difference speech therapy for kids can make in a child’s life. When David was four years old, he developed a persistent stutter. He would get frustrated while speaking, and after a few months, his mom noticed that he spoke less and less, and his preschool teacher indicated he had become withdrawn during class. Worried, his mom took him to see a speech therapist.
While David was shy at first, his therapist worked with him at his own pace, playing games with him and encouraging him to speak. After a few weeks, he started to open up to her, and she began working with him on simple exercises to improve his speech.
David’s speech therapists showed him how to slow down and sound out syllables. Because they discovered that David’s stutter was worse when he got excited, she also helped him devise strategies to manage that excitement so that it didn’t impact his speech as much.
By the time David was ready to enter kindergarten, his stuttering had reduced immensely. Even better, his self-confidence had improved, and he was excited to start a new school and make new friends. Armed with the exercises and strategies he had learned from his speech therapist, he was grinning ear to ear when his mom dropped him off on his first day of school.
Speech therapy is one of the best treatment options for stuttering–but stuttering isn’t the only thing it can help with. If your child struggles with language and communication in any way, the pediatric speech therapists at Mark Their Words Therapy Services are here to help! Through games, exercises, and other approaches, our Tennessee-based therapists can help your child find their voice.
Curious to learn more? Call us to schedule an appointment today!
Why Might Kids Need to Use Speech Therapy?
There are several reasons why a child might benefit from speech therapy, and they’re not all necessarily related to speech itself. The reason is that communication is a two-way street that involves both speaking and listening.
When most of us think of speech or language impairment, we think of expressive language. A child who struggles with expressive language will have difficulty talking. They might struggle to put words into sentences or ask questions.
However, some children struggle with receptive language, meaning they struggle to understand speech. These children might struggle to answer questions or take turns when speaking. And many children struggle with both receptive and expressive language.
Furthermore, it’s important to remember that speech difficulties are not necessarily a symptom of cognitive difficulties. Stuttering is a good example: someone with a stutter knows what they want to say but simply struggles to actually pronounce the word.
Childhood apraxia and dysarthria are two other examples. If a child has apraxia, their brain doesn’t send the proper signals to their mouth and lips, meaning they know what they want to say but simply can’t say it. Dysarthria is a motor disorder that makes it difficult for a child to use the muscles in the mouth and face–so again, they know what they want to communicate, but they physically can not do it.
Finally, some developmental or medical conditions can affect speech and communication. Kids with ADHD and autism often struggle with social skills, including listening to others or taking turns in conversations. Autism can also cause difficulties in expressive language, such as speaking in a monotone.
Five Ways That Speech Therapy Benefits Kids
Speech therapy for kids is more than just learning how to talk. It’s actually about communication, which means speech therapy can have a radiating effect on a child’s life. Here are five building blocks that speech therapy can provide your child, no matter the source of their communication difficulties:
- Allows Your Child to Express Themselves: Speech therapy will give your child the tools to better share their thoughts, concerns, and creativity. We’ll show them how to advocate for themselves and better express their needs to others, better preparing them for school and other social situations.
- Improves Social Skills: The reason humans talk at all is because we are social creatures. When your child improves their speech and communication abilities, they’ll be better equipped to interact with others, allowing them to make friends more easily–and, later on in life, have fulfilling romantic and professional relationships.
- Improves Literacy: Speech therapy can also help improve your child’s reading and writing skills! Communication encompasses various behaviors: speaking, reading, writing, and gesturing. Often, difficulty with one can impact the others, so dedicated speech therapy can show improvements across the board.
- Increases Your Child’s Independence: A child who can communicate effectively is a child who can more easily strike out on their own. Speech therapy will help prepare your child for the day-to-day communication tasks that allow us to take care of ourselves (such as ordering at a restaurant or talking with a doctor).
- Builds Self-Esteem: Many children with communication disorders struggle with low self-esteem. They might feel alienated from their peers or become too shy to interact socially. Speech therapy will help your child feel far more confident in their communication ability–and so far more confident to go out and face the world!
Schedule An Appointment With Us Today!
The team of speech therapists at Mark Their Words Therapy Services loves helping children discover their own unique communication abilities. We’ll develop customized treatment plans that speak to your child’s strengths while addressing their limitations.
If you live in Tennessee and want to get started with pediatric speech therapy, request your initial appointment today!
Sources:
- https://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/childsandl/
- https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/22366-speech-therapy
Tags: Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy, speechtherapist, Mark Their Words Therapy Services, Kids Condition
