Speech Pathology

Speech pathologists help to diagnose and treat a range of delays and disorders that interfere with a child’s ability to communicate. They assist children to speak, listen, understand language, read, write and use social skills as well as support children who stutter, have voice disorders or difficulty with feeding. Speech therapists also work with children who have disabilities such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Global Developmental Delay, Intellectual Disability and Cerebral Palsy.

Speech pathologist’s aim to help children communicate effectively through treatment to enhance language development. They support parents to improve the communication skills of their baby or toddler, assist with developing sentence structure and grammar in older children as well as help children to understand language such as the ability to follow instructions. Speech therapists also help children develop non-verbal communication such as using Key Word Signs and picture communication.

Speech therapy can also help to improve speech sounds or articulation in children. They can help diagnose a range of speech delays and disorders as well as provide therapy to improve the child’s ability to be understood by others. Stuttering is also an area that can be assessed and treated by a speech pathologist as well as voice issues such as speech sounding husky or issues with volume.

Social conversation and play skills are also important areas of communication that speech pathologist’s can help with. This ranges from engaging in appropriate play for infants and young children to supporting adolescents to converse with peers and make and maintain relationships with others.