Have you noticed your child struggling with learning to read or falling behind in school?

Does your baby have trouble with feeding or seem uninterested in their surroundings?

Do they stutter or have trouble making certain speech sounds?

If so, a speech-language pathologist may be a resource for you and your little one.

Speech therapists are a great resource that plays a crucial role in supporting and enhancing children's communication skills. Through a range of specialized techniques and interventions, speech therapy aims to address various speech and language disorders, such as articulation difficulties, language delays, stutters, and voice disorders. Experienced speech therapists create individualized treatment plans tailored to each child's unique needs, focusing on improving their ability to pronounce sounds, understand and use language effectively, communicate clearly, and develop social skills. By providing a safe and supportive environment, speech therapy services empower children to build confidence in their communication abilities, fostering their overall academic success and social interactions.

At Erika Wurz, Speech Therapy, I provide speech therapy treatments for children that can help with a wide range of different childhood speech, language, and feeding disorders.

I will be with you every step of the way, from screenings & evaluations to pediatric speech therapy interventions. I help guide both you and your child toward overcoming their speech or language disorder in the critical early years of development and beyond.

 

Common Childhood Speech Disorders

Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders

Examples of orofacial myofunctional disorders common in children include:

Dysphagia & Swallowing Issues

Swallowing disorders tend to refer to two different things, for which a speech therapist can retrain your child to swallow more effectively:

  • Dysphagia – a sensation of food becoming stuck in your baby’s chest or being regurgitated

  • Odynophagia – pain in your child’s throat when they swallow

A speech therapist can retrain your child to swallow more effectively.

Ankyloglossia

Ankyloglossia, also known as tongue tie, is a condition where your child’s tongue has a limited range of motion, which can create speech, feeding, breathing, and swallowing issues. A pediatric speech therapist can help.

Chronic Open Mouth Positioning/Breathing

If your child has a poor oral resting posture – that is, they sit with their mouth open, jaw shifted to the side, tongue protruding forward, or they snore, drool, and breathe through their mouth, a pediatric speech therapist can help.

Other Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders

Other orofacial myofunctional disorders include:

  • Extended pacifier or bottle use

  • Chronic thumb sucking

  • Speech distortion

  • Tongue thrust

  • Dental abnormalities

Speech Sound Disorders

Speech sound disorders include things like:

Childhood Apraxia Of Speech

A disorder similar to dysarthria in that a child has trouble forming certain speech sounds due to difficulties in motor planning and coordination. However, rather than being a muscular issue, it’s an issue with the part of your child’s brain that controls their speech muscles. A pediatric speech therapist can help.

Other Speech Sound Disorders

Other speech sound disorders that can affect children include:

  • Articulation disorders

  • Phonological disorders

Stuttering

A disorder where people repeat certain sounds and have trouble creating them. In most cases, it’s not a matter of intelligence – people who stutter know what they want to say, but have difficulty creating the sounds. Often times, their words get “stuck” and they need help getting them out. A pediatric speech therapist can help.

Hearing Loss

A child with hearing loss will have difficulty hearing and imitating the sounds they need to learn complex speech patterns. A pediatric speech therapist can help.

Reading Disability

A child with a reading disability has trouble with reading fluency, speed, comprehension, or processing what they read. A pediatric speech therapist can help.

Intellectual Disability

Intellectual disabilities are where your child has limits in their cognitive functioning, which can cause issues with speech and language. A pediatric speech therapist can help.

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism spectrum disorder is a disorder with a significant amount of variance from person to person, and not everybody experiences it the same way.

In some cases, children with autism spectrum disorder will have communication and behavioral issues. In others, however, autistic children may have no discernable communication issues at all.

If your child has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, or you suspect they have it, it’s a good idea to see a pediatric speech therapist for a speech therapy screening evaluation for autism spectrum disorder. If your child has any speech or language concerns in relation to their autism, we can help.

Other Childhood Speech & Language Disorders

Other speech & language disorders common in children include:

  • Dysarthria

  • Reduced volume

  • Breathiness/hoarseness

  • Traumatic brain injury

  • Cognitive linguistic disorders

  • Cerebral palsy

  • Fetal alcohol syndrome