Speech Therapy

Speech and language therapy is designed to treat speech and language disorders and concerns in the areas of:  

  • Receptive and expressive language- the ability to understand and use verbal language to communicate
  • Articulation- using the structures and muscles of the oral mechanism to accurately produce the sounds required for speech
  • Voice-using appropriate pitch, volume, and intonation to convey a variety of emotions
  • Fluency- the ability to connect sounds, syllables, and words together smoothly while speaking
  • Pragmatics- using verbal and nonverbal language to read and respond to others’ cues in social situations

Speech and language therapy promotes:

  • The use of words and gestures to express wants, needs, feelings, and ideas.
  • The understanding of verbal language to process, store, and act on important information.
  • Engagement in play with siblings and peers.
  • Creative use of language as well as exploration of emotions, causality, and relationships.
  • Reading others’ nonverbal cues, responding to social language, engaging in back-and-forth interactions, and perspective taking.
  • Problem-solving using language and gestures.

Speech and language therapy supports children by:

  • Working within the child’s interests to promote a connection between the therapist and child to accomplish goals together.
  • Acknowledging the child’s developmental, sensory, and individual needs and adapting therapy accordingly.
  • Applying research based practices such as DIR®/Floortime ™, ABA , and sensory integration to create individualized goals based on a child’s specific needs to bring them towards age appropriate levels of speech and language.
  • Providing families with strategies and activities to promote generalization of therapy skills.
  • Utilizing a comprehensive interdisciplinary developmental framework by collaborating with occupational therapists, physical therapists, developmental therapists, teachers, parents, siblings, and peers to generalize skills across different contexts.
  • Providing one-on-one therapy sessions.

Children with speech and language challenges have difficulty expressing their wants and needs which affects their ability to develop relationships with peers and adults. Furthermore, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can have difficulties with engagement and social reciprocity.

At Lakeside Center for Autism, speech and language therapy is individually tailored to help your child be successful in the areas of receptive and expressive language, articulation, fluency, voice, pragmatics, and social skills. Speech and language therapy at LCA can help your child become a better communicator by finding opportunities  in natural and motivating contexts to practice following directions, expanding language, articulating sounds in speech, engaging in creative play and sharing ideas.  By doing so, deeper, richer relationships can be created, and back-and-forth social interactions with peers, family, teachers, and others can be strengthened.