Services
Explore service options for children (ages 3-19):
When talking about speech, we refer to the units of sounds that make up talking. Articulation refers to the way we produce speech sounds. Phonology is how we organize speech sounds to produce words. Articulation/phonological therapy may be appropriate for:
Children who are difficult to understand
Children who use a limited number of speech sounds (e.g., "daddy," "doggy," and "ducky" sound like "dada")
Children who struggle to produce certain sounds, like R or S (e.g., "rabbit" sounds like "wabbit" or "soap" sounds like "thoap")
Children who are able to produce a sound by itself but struggle to say the sound in words or sentences
A neurological speech sound disorder known as Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) can also impact individuals' speech. CAS causes a disruption in the precision and consistency of movements for speech. Motor speech therapy may be appropriate for:
Children who are difficult to understand, especially when saying longer/multisyllabic words
Children who use a limited number of speech sounds
Children who have inconsistent errors in repeated productions of the same word (e.g., repetition of "tree" may sound like "dree", then "shwee", then "fmee")
Children who have atypical speech sound errors, like vowel errors (e.g., "beg" for "big")
Children who visibly struggle with mouth movements when talking
Language consists of 3 domains:
Form - the structure and rules of language. Form helps us to say, "I found a seashell," rather than, "Finded me seashell a"
Content - the specific words that we use to communicate ideas through language
Use - how we use language socially within our cultural context
Language needs may vary from person to person. Language therapy may be appropriate for:
Children who have a limited vocabulary, or who use vague words like "it", "thing", "that" to talk about items with specific names
Children who make grammatical errors when talking or writing
Children who have difficulty following directions, or require instructions to be repeated or broken down into smaller steps
Children who have trouble retelling stories, telling about things that happen during their day, or sequencing information in a way that makes sense to others
Students with a suspected or diagnosed language-based learning disability
Children who have difficulty using social aspects of language (e.g., making and keeping friends, expressing feelings, following routines)
Fluency refers to the continuity, smoothness, rate, and effort in speech production. Fluency disorders such as stuttering and cluttering involve an interruption in the flow of speaking. Fluency support can help students' increase their knowledge of the speech mechanism, develop self-advocacy skills, and learn how to control their talking. Stuttering therapy may be helpful for:
Children who frequently repeat sounds and/or syllables when talking (e.g., "B-b-bye")
Children who get audibly stuck on a sound when talking (e.g., "I want sssssssome")
Children who get silently stuck on a sound when talking (e.g., "Look at th------that car")
Children who show physical tension or unexpected mannerisms during talking like eye blinking, eye avoidance, head nodding, leg bouncing, tense shoulders/mouth
Cluttering therapy may be appropriate for:
Children who appear to speak very quickly
Children who collapse syllables or omit sounds in words (e.g., "Turn the telivisoff")
Children who frequently repeat whole words or phrases (e.g., "I went to- I went to- I went to the store")
Children who excessively use filler words (e.g., um, like) and/or revisions (e.g., "He ate- He fell asleep")
Children who have difficulty telling and sequencing information in a way that makes sense to others
Explore service options for adults (ages 19+):
When talking about speech, we refer to the units of sounds that make up talking. Articulation refers to the way we produce speech sounds. Phonology is how we organize speech sounds to produce words. Articulation/phonological therapy may be appropriate for:
Adults who want to learn strategies to correct speech errors
Accent enhancement therapy teaches adults how to speak using speech and intonation patterns typical with a regional accent (e.g., North American English). Accent enhancement therapy may be appropriate for:
Individuals who feel that their speech does not match their identity
Individuals who want to sound a certain way in professional or social settings
Adults who want to be better understood by others in their community
Those who want to speak with a regional accent
Note: Insurance companies will not pay for services to change your accent. This is because an accent is not a speech or language disorder.
