Speech Training Versus Speech Therapy
As a practicing speech-language pathologist in private practice, I
get numerous calls from parents asking me if I can provide their child
with elocution lessons for enunciation of words. This is when I have to
give the parents a spill about speech training versus speech therapy and
why it is important to distinguish the two services.
First off, most medical insurance companies cover the cost of speech therapy but not the cost of speech training, therefore; parents must pay for speech training.
Secondly, depending upon the age of the child, chances are the child has not mastered the production of speech. Or the child may have a speech disorder.
Speech therapy helps children who have difficulty correctly producing age appropriate sounds due to medical reasons, intellectual reasons, or just developmentally delayed from known and unknown causes. So when a parent calls a speech-language pathologist (speech therapist) to ask her about speech training for a child 3 years to 17 years of age, the speech-language pathologist may invite the parent to visit the office to conduct a free (or minimal cost) speech screening of the child's speech behavior and provide consultation services to the parent.
As we all know, children develop and grow at their own pace. Yes, your child may visit his primary doctor's office for a well visit to check the status of his developmental milestones for growth and communication skills. However, your child's doctor should know that every child does not meet the developmental guidelines at the exact time but your child should be within the limits of proximity. If your child does not fall within the limits of proximity of communication milestones then your child's doctor should refer your child to a speech-language pathologist for a speech and language evaluation.
There are times when older children (adolescents) may need speech training for activities such as: acting, debating, and oral presentations. It is at the discretion of the speech-language pathologist to decide which practice model is best for the child.
Things to consider when approaching a speech-language pathologist to help your child with speech training: your child's hearing ability, is he hard of hearing, has a history of ear infections; the shape of your child's mouth, sometimes children may need a prosthetic due to the shape of their mouths (similar to braces to widen or narrow the palate area of the mouth); or does your child's lingual frenulum restricts mobility of his tongue? Or is the difficulty of your child's speech secondary to a medical issue?
There are so many elements to the process of speech and the speech mechanism to consider before approaching a speech-language pathologist to provide speech training to your child.
So keep in mind, the speech-language pathologist may conduct a comprehensive speech and language evaluation, to rule out, any speech and or language disorder before providing speech training. You will be responsible to pay for the value of this service.
Moreover, a school based speech-language pathologist may not provide speech training because the schools and the federal government only hire speech-language pathologist to provide skilled intervention services (speech and language therapy), that is deemed medically necessary, to help improve the child's overall communication skills within his academic environment.
First off, most medical insurance companies cover the cost of speech therapy but not the cost of speech training, therefore; parents must pay for speech training.
Secondly, depending upon the age of the child, chances are the child has not mastered the production of speech. Or the child may have a speech disorder.
Speech therapy helps children who have difficulty correctly producing age appropriate sounds due to medical reasons, intellectual reasons, or just developmentally delayed from known and unknown causes. So when a parent calls a speech-language pathologist (speech therapist) to ask her about speech training for a child 3 years to 17 years of age, the speech-language pathologist may invite the parent to visit the office to conduct a free (or minimal cost) speech screening of the child's speech behavior and provide consultation services to the parent.
As we all know, children develop and grow at their own pace. Yes, your child may visit his primary doctor's office for a well visit to check the status of his developmental milestones for growth and communication skills. However, your child's doctor should know that every child does not meet the developmental guidelines at the exact time but your child should be within the limits of proximity. If your child does not fall within the limits of proximity of communication milestones then your child's doctor should refer your child to a speech-language pathologist for a speech and language evaluation.
There are times when older children (adolescents) may need speech training for activities such as: acting, debating, and oral presentations. It is at the discretion of the speech-language pathologist to decide which practice model is best for the child.
Things to consider when approaching a speech-language pathologist to help your child with speech training: your child's hearing ability, is he hard of hearing, has a history of ear infections; the shape of your child's mouth, sometimes children may need a prosthetic due to the shape of their mouths (similar to braces to widen or narrow the palate area of the mouth); or does your child's lingual frenulum restricts mobility of his tongue? Or is the difficulty of your child's speech secondary to a medical issue?
There are so many elements to the process of speech and the speech mechanism to consider before approaching a speech-language pathologist to provide speech training to your child.
So keep in mind, the speech-language pathologist may conduct a comprehensive speech and language evaluation, to rule out, any speech and or language disorder before providing speech training. You will be responsible to pay for the value of this service.
Moreover, a school based speech-language pathologist may not provide speech training because the schools and the federal government only hire speech-language pathologist to provide skilled intervention services (speech and language therapy), that is deemed medically necessary, to help improve the child's overall communication skills within his academic environment.
Cynthia Willis, M.Ed., CCC-SLP has earned the highest credentials
needed to practice speech-language pathology in private practice.
Cynthia Willis has earned the Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC)
from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), of which
she is a member.
Ms. Willis holds a license from North Carolina State Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. She completed her first year of undergraduate studies at Brooklyn College a City University of New York (CUNY); transferred to Fayetteville State University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in "Speech and Theater" and minored in "Sociology" (studied multiculturalism and sub-cultures). Ms. Willis earned her Master of Education (M.Ed.,) degree from North Carolina Central University where she studied "Communication Disorders".
http://perfectlyspeaking.com
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cynthia_Willis
Ms. Willis holds a license from North Carolina State Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. She completed her first year of undergraduate studies at Brooklyn College a City University of New York (CUNY); transferred to Fayetteville State University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in "Speech and Theater" and minored in "Sociology" (studied multiculturalism and sub-cultures). Ms. Willis earned her Master of Education (M.Ed.,) degree from North Carolina Central University where she studied "Communication Disorders".
http://perfectlyspeaking.com
Comments
Post a Comment
thank you