Pediatric Language Delay

Receptive & Expressive language delays:

 Children all learn language the same way, but not always at the same time.  Speech pathologists can help your child:

  • Auditory Processing – understand what is heard through repetition & rehearsal

  • Build Vocabulary - learn new words through role playing & story telling

  • Alternative/Augmentative Communication – provide communication options until language is built

Social emotional pragmatic impairments:

As children learn about the world around them through observation and imitation, sometimes social interaction skills lag behind.  Speech pathologists can help your child:

  • Improve eye contact during turn-taking conversations

  • Initiate interactions with others

  • Attain & Maintain attention

  • Interpret Non-Verbal cues

Articulation disorders: 

Speech pathologists help identify individual sounds and sound combinations in error. Speech therapy treatment  will include:

  • Evaluation of the physical structure of their mouth and muscles, ie lips, tongue, cheeks, hard/soft palate

  • Provide correct placement of tongue, lips, and teeth in positions to produce an accurate sound

  • Recognition of how the new sound feels and is heard during speech

  • Celebration of new sound production until the new sound is habit. 

Cleft lip & palate intervention:

Surgical intervention and behavior intervention are the primary treatment components.  SLPs play an important role in speech and feeding skills following reconstruction including:

  • Facilitating sucking, swallowing, chewing skills for safe eating & drinking

  • Teaching correct sound productions

  • Decreasing hypo/hyper nasal emissions

Voice disorders: stuttering/cluttering and vocal fold dysfunction:

 A child’s pitch, loudness, and overall vocal quality tend to affect their relationships with their peers, and unfortunately, can lead to negative attention and limited participation in activities. 

Treatment Approaches:

Speech pathologist, Victoria Pavelko, has over a decade experience as a fluency specialist treating stuttering/cluttering  disorders across the lifespan.  Treatment approaches include:

  • Lidcombe Parent Training Program

  • Temple Child Therapy

  • Shine’s Systematic Fluency Training

  • Martin, Kuhl & Haroldson’s time-out with a Puppet

  • Gregory’s modeling slow easy speech

  • Cooper’s Control Therapy Program

Autism intervention:

We want to find the BEST way to help your child communicate in more useful, functional ways.  We believe in Family – Centered Approach – reducing family stress through collaboration of family’s interests & cultural values. Treatment approaches to include:

  • Non-verbal gestural communication with simple sign language (ASL)

  • Communication Boards/iPad applications

  • Receptive language skill builders

  • Attention/Listening/Imitation play

Feeding disorders:

Up to 45% of typical developing children develop a chewing, sucking, or swallowing disorder.  We are here to help your child develop healthy, safe eating & drinking skills by:

  • Providing a relaxing, stress-free feeding environment

  • Initiate food play to begin to accept different food textures into hands

  • Improve low tone in facial muscles

  • Increase strength in tongue, lips, and cheeks with fun exercises

  • Decrease sensory aversions by focusing on combining favorite foods with new ones

  • Assist with transition from bottle/breastfeeding to food and drink