Speech-Language Pathology

ASSISTING CHILDREN WITH SPEECH AND LANGUAGE DISABILITIES

Speech-Language Pathologists (SLP) are registered health care professionals involved in the prevention, identification and treatment of speech, language, stuttering, hearing and swallowing disorders.

How do you know if your child would benefit from Speech-Language Pathology?

If your child is having difficulty with:

• Feeding and swallowing,
• Making sounds by 4 months of age,
• Saying first words by 12-18 months,
• Being understood by unfamiliar people by age 2,
• Putting thoughts into words,
• Understanding what others say to him/her
• Stuttering.

What does a Speech-Language Pathologist at FIREFLY offer your child?

Services are provided to children from birth to age 18 in home, school, and/or community settings (example: daycare, hospital, etc.).

In general, once the referral has been processed and an SLP is available to see your child they will need to meet with you for an initial interview to explain what an SLP may be able to offer and determine the areas of concern.

Following that, they will complete an assessment with your child, which may occur at home, school, or in a community setting. After the assessment is complete, a report is written providing suggestions that can be reviewed with you and others involved with your child.

A therapy plan may include, but is not limited to:

• An initial assessment;
• Working together with children and their families, caregivers, daycare and school staff and other agencies to provide individualized treatment plans suited to the child and family’s strengths and needs;
• Direct therapy, either individual or group;
• Determining the need for equipment;
• Home programs for use by parents, caregivers, daycare and school staff; and
• Ongoing monitoring in which the therapist trains someone else involved with the child to carry out the plan on a more regular basis. The therapist is in regular contact with the person who carries out the program.

Contact

To learn more about the options available to you, contact FIREFLY toll free today at 1-800-465-7203. For location information, visit our Contact Us page.