A speech therapist is not only a speech impediment therapist. It helps to identify and remove barriers to linguistic communication that can interfere with the intellectual, emotional and social development of a child. The speech therapist must have thorough knowledge of various fields of knowledge. Read what a speech therapist does and how to find a good speech therapist for your child!

Speech therapistdiagnoses and then treats speech defects. Analyzes speech understood as transmitting and receiving information, i.e. communication.Speech disordersarise on a different background, therefore the therapist - in order to diagnose and then treat them - must have thorough knowledge of medicine, psychology and pedagogy.

It is worth adding that apart from treating speech impediments, the speech therapist also works with bilingual children, Asperger's syndrome and autism. Parents of stuttering and hearing impaired children also seek help from a speech therapist. Moreover, the speech therapist is visited by dyslexics.

Speech therapist works in specialist clinics, but also in schools, kindergartens, school and educational centers, and even in hospital departments, e.g. ENT and neurological.

When a speech therapist consultation is needed

You definitely shouldn't wait for your child to grow out ofpronunciation defect . It is worth taking advantage of a speech therapist's consultation when you notice that your child has:

  • anatomical changes within the articulation apparatus: abnormal structure of the tongue (lingual frenulum too short), malocclusion, dental anomalies, physical hearing impairment is suspected;
  • we notice that the child's psychomotor and emotional development is slower than that of their peers;
  • the child's pronunciation does not meet age-specific speech development standards.
  • with a newborn baby to find out if the baby is breathing, swallowing or sucking properly - the development of these functions has an impact on the baby's pronunciation in the future.
Important

Speech development in preschoolers

Do you want to know if your child's speech is developing properly? Compare the child's skills with the age norms adopted by specialists.A CHILD WHO IS 3 YEARS OLD SHOULD SPEAK:- all vowels, both oral (a, o, e, u, i, y), and nasal (ą, ę); - hard and softened bilayers (m, m ', b, b', p,p '); - hard and softened labial-tooth consonants (f, f', w, w '); - middle-language consonants (ś, ź, ć, dż, ń); - hard and softened posterolingual consonants (k, k ', g, g', ch, ch '); - frontal-dental consonants (t, d, n); hard and softened frontal-gingival consonants (l, l '); semivowels (ł, j).IN THE CONVERSION OF A 4-YEAR-OLD CHILD:- the sounds s, z, c, dz are gradually fixed; - the sound r appears; - the sounds sz, ż, cz, dż are still replaced by the sounds s, z, c, dz or ś, ź, ć, j.IN A 5-YEAR-OLD CHILD'S SPEECH:- the sounds sz, ż, cz, dż begin to settle; - the sound of r should be implemented.THE SPEECH OF A 6-YEAR-OLDshould be already mastered in terms of sounds. Nevertheless, it is still far from perfect. It happens that consonantal groups are further simplified, words undergo numerous distortions, and the most difficult sounds for a child, i.e. sz, ż, cz, dż and r, are replaced by easier sounds, i.e. by s, z, c, respectively. dz be l, j.

Speech therapist first learns the causes of speech disorders

Children with speech impediments and articulation disorders most often visit a speech therapist. To establish an effective therapy, the specialist must know the patient well. He looks at the speech organs and checks their motor skills. Incorrect structure may concern the tongue (too small, too large, with too short a lingual frenulum), soft and hard palate (various types of clefts), less frequently the lips (underdevelopment of the upper lip, frenulum, which limits its mobility), dentition (faulty bite, lack of teeth), mandible (mobility). If the child confuses the sounds, the speech therapist will check phonemic hearing, perform a physical hearing test and the so-called auditory self-control. Many times a child is convinced that he or she speaks well. Only the recording of his speech and playback allows him to realize the need to work on pronunciation. If the child goes to school, the speech therapist, in order to check whether the defect is reflected in the letter, will ask for the student's notebooks. If so, your therapy will also include writing. An important source of information is an interview with the parents. The speech therapist will ask when the child started talking, how the speech developed, if someone in the child's environment has speech impediments (older siblings, parents or guardians), if the child has had any serious diseases. He will also ask how the parents' speech developed. If necessary, he will refer the child for an audiological examination (in case of hearing loss), to an ENT specialist to confirm or rule out enlargement of the third tonsil, polyps, and curvature of the nasal septum. In some cases, a psychological or neurological examination is also useful.

Therapy at a speech therapist: how is it going?

After the child has been diagnosed, the speech therapist sets up an action plan and the therapy begins. The standard meeting (30-40 minutes) includes: checking the mastery of the assigned exercises, introducing new material, short relaxation activities, writing down new material for home fixation in the child's notebook and re-practicing it with the toddler, giving the child's caregiver home exercises instructions. The results of speech therapy depend, inter alia, on on the type of defect, time of treatment initiation as well as patient's commitment and persistence. The child should feel the need to exercise and understand the need to participate in activities. Close cooperation between parents is also important as therapy must be continued at home. Parents should carry out the exercises recommended each time with their child. The best results are achieved by daily 15-20-minute classes, which must take place in an atmosphere of peace. The child should be praised even for minimal achievements. Do not exercise if you have a sore throat, high temperature or runny nose.

A visit to a speech therapist under the National He alth Fund requires a referral from e.g. a pediatrician, family doctor or ENT specialist.

How do I find a good speech therapist?

Choosing a good speech therapist is the key to success in working with a child on his speech impediment. And this work, like any one performed with the youngest, is particularly demanding. A good speech therapist should therefore not only have the appropriate substantive preparation, but be able to adapt the classes to the child's psyche and age - so that they are attractive to him. Children get tired quickly, usually they are not enthusiastic about tasks, so a speech therapist should not lack creativity and patience, as well as flexibility to adapt the meeting program to a specific child, be able to change it already during the cooperation.

Communication on the speech therapist-parent line is also important. Mom or dad are responsible both for the child's performance of appropriate exercises at home and active participation in activities with the child. Without this cooperation, it will be more difficult for the child to achieve the goal set by the speech therapist.

In the 21st century, the time of the Internet and free exchange of opinions, finding a good speech therapist should not be a problem - it is worth asking for advice from parents of children who were struggling with the same problem, read opinions available on-line, and above all - form your opinion about the work of a given speech therapist after a few meetings. Remember that if the specialist does not turn out to be the specialist we are looking for, you can always start therapy with someone else.

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