Specialized Services

Below listed medical conditions are commonly known to present with higher incidence of Speech-Language and/or Swallowing difficulties:

ADHD

ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. It is a condition that affects an individual’s ability to sustain attention. There are two distinct characteristics of ADHD, inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity.

A child with these characteristics typically demonstrates the following signs:

  1. Inattention: - Child has difficulty concentrating, focusing and sustaining attention. Child’s performance depends on task; meaning they may be able to attend to only activities of interest. Child may demonstrate difficulty in planning, organizing, and completing tasks on time.
  2. Hyperactivity: - Child finds difficult to sit in one place and appears restless and fidgety. He/ she often try to do more than one thing at a time.
  3. Impulsivity: - Chid demonstrates difficulty with turn taking and thinking before acting.
Specific speech and language patterns vary from child to child with ADHD. Children with ADHD may present with delayed receptive and expressive language skills. They are often unable to understand social communication and hence find it difficult to use appropriate social greetings. They may have difficulty understanding figurative language; such as metaphorical phrases like “it’s raining cats and dogs”. It is likely that they may understand the meaning very literally. It is critical to evaluate each child's individual speech and language ability prior to developing an appropriate treatment plan.

Based on individual needs, speech and language intervention is planned. At Let’s Talk Speech Therapy intervention will be focused on facilitating appropriate language skills, improving planning and organization skills and following complex instructions. They are also trained in how to use language socially to communicate. Various tools and therapy materials (such as organizers) are used to facilitate appropriate developmental skills.

Aphasia

Aphasia is a language disorder that results from damage to one or more speech and language centers (areas) in the brain. Aphasia may result because of stroke or head injury or it may gradually develop in case of dementia, brain tumor or infection. This disorder impairs individual’s ability of expression, understanding language and in some cases reading and writing as well. It may c0-exist with other speech disorders such as Dysarthria and Apraxia.

Anyone can acquire Aphasia, including children; however, it is more commonly seen in middle aged and older individuals. At Let’s Talk Speech Therapy we perform a comprehensive evaluation, assessing individual’s ability to express needs, process language, converse socially and read and write. Therapy is aimed to improve person’s ability to communicate by restoring language abilities and by teaching them new patterns. Family involvement is also regarded as very important component of the treatment.

Apraxia

Apraxia of Speech is also known as Verbal Apraxia or Dyspraxia is a speech disorder is characterized by difficulty in saying the words correctly and consistently in absence of any weakness or paralysis of facial muscles. There are two main types of Apraxia viz. Acquired Apraxia and Developmental Apraxia. Acquired Apraxia may result secondary to neurological damage such as stroke, head injury, tumor or any other illness affecting the brain. It most typically occurs in adults and may co-exist with Aphasia and Dysarthria. Developmental Apraxia of Speech (DAS) occurs in children and may be present from birth. It affects brain’s ability to send appropriate neurological signals required for speech muscle movement co-ordination.

One of the most notable symptom is difficulty in putting sounds and syllables in correct order to form the word. Longer the utterance and more complex are the words, harder it is for these individuals to say them correctly.

Speech Language Pathologists play a key role in diagnosis and management of Apraxia. Individuals with Apraxia may not outgrow their problems on their own. At Let’s Talk Speech Therapy we use various specialized approaches such as P.R.O.M.P.T. and oral motor programs in treatment of Apraxia. P.R.O.M.P.T. is one of the best known techniques used in restructuring speech production output for individuals with speech production disorders such as Apraxia, Dysarthria and Articulation and Phonological disorders. It is a dynamic tactile method of treatment based on touch pressure, kinesthetic and proprioceptive cues.

Auditory Processing Disorder

Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) is a disorder characterized by difficulty in speech processing. It refers to difficulty in the perceptual processing of auditory information in the Central Nervous system. The diagnosis can be difficult because many higher cognitive-linguistic functions play important role in speech processing. It is important to note that just because a child demonstrates listening problems; it does not mean that the child has a central auditory processing disorder. CAPD must be diagnosed by a multidisciplinary team, including an audiologist.

Evaluation includes systematic observation of listening behavior and assessing performance on auditory function tests. At Let’s Talk Speech Therapy we aim to improve child’s auditory processing and listening abilities.

Autism

Autism, is a developmental disability characterized by varying degrees of impairment in communication skills and social abilities. Its symptoms can range from mild to severe. Autism is a lifelong problem with a number of possible causes. Individuals with Autism have difficulties with verbal and/or non-verbal communication, social skills and play activities. They may also have repetitive behaviors or intense interests.

The treatment for autism may include any combination of traditional speech and language approaches, augmentative and alternative communication, P.R.O.M.P.T. and behavioral interventions.

Parents are usually the first ones to notice unusual behaviors in their child or their child's failure to reach appropriate developmental milestones. If you have concerns about your child's development, don't wait. Consult Let's Talk Speech Therapy for early evaluation and appropriate treatment plan.

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