A speech disorder starts affecting kids from the young age which can worsen as they age. However, as a parent, a decision to consult a SLP or Speech Therapist can help your kids overcome this problem. This problem is not only a problem for kids, adults who have suffered a stroke or brain damage. How well Speech Language pathology work on kids and what its downsides? The Advantages and Disadvantages of speech therapy will help you explore further.
According to NIDCD, 1 in every 12 kids between 3 and 10 has speech, language, or voice impairment. This roughly estimates that around 5% of U.S. children aged 3-17 have a speech disorder in total. Kids start showing the symptoms of Speech impairment just when they are supposed to learn to communicate.
This reason gives urgency to see a speech therapist, also known as a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP). There are certain advantages of Speech therapy for kids at home, provided parents can identify kids’ symptoms.
A language delay is a type of communication disorder. This disorder is most common among children who cannot meet the language developmental milestones for their age. They are most likely to develop language abilities at a slower rate than most children.
Kids suffering from speech delay may have trouble expressing themselves or understanding others. The speech delay may also involve a combination of hearing, speech, and cognitive impairments.
Disfluencies are disorders in which a kids repeats a sound, word, or phrase. Stuttering may be the most serious example Disfluency. Sometimes, kids may be unable to speak clearly due to any of the following conditions.
Speech therapy or Speech language therapy is surrounded by both pros and cons given the circumstances. The main goal of speech therapy is to improve communication.
Points to keep in mind.
Since the disorder affects kids at the age of preschool, it’s more convenient to conduct your kids’ Speech therapy at home. Following are some reason why Speech Language therapy is beneficial for kids when done at home.
Speech language pathologist typically offers very flexible hours for kid at home which means, neither parents nor the therapist have any problem of scheduling time.
The therapy happens in your home on your schedule, where all the family members are present. Also, you don’t have to drive your kids to clinic or hospitals. It’s one of the advantages of speech therapy at home for kids who find it comfortable being with their parents.
While the Speech-language Pathologist uses different approaches to help the kids overcome the problem, they can work better with your entire family. With kids at home surrounded by family members, SLP can easily understand how kid perceives his/her surroundings and can follow the appropriate therapy methods.
Speech-language therapists tend to your kid personally, which means the results will be effective as the session takes place one-to-one. The chances of improving speech ability of your kid are higher as they get full attention from therapist.
One of the significant advantages of speech therapy at home is that parents can learn from the speech therapist and help their kids afterward. It’s not necessary to rely on SLP always. If you know how the therapy works, you can give extra effort to help your kids hone their speech ability.
As Speech therapy at home has several benefits, it does comes with some disadvantages. Her are a few to consider before you approach an SLP.
An SLP charges extra for Home visitation, which can add more pressure on your budget. Provided the time they give your kid through one-to-one sessions, they are a more expensive option than clinics, schools, and hospitals.
Besides the family members, the home is filled with visual and sound distractions that can cause disturbance during a session. Such distractions may also lead SLP to focus less on kids; hence there may be a lack of coordination between the two.
At the clinic, SLPs have immediate access to all of the materials, tools, and props required for a successful therapy session. However, these many items are very difficult for a therapist to carry to kids’ homes. Lack of such assistive material may delay the recovery time as the SLP has to work on limited options.
The non-availability of a coordinated team of therapists is one of the considerable disadvantages of speech therapy at home. Since the SLPs attend your kid at home, they may require assistance from speech, occupational, or behavioral therapists. This means an SLP has to work things out independently, even if a kid needs pediatric attention.
Conclusion:
As a parent you need to identify all the symptoms of speech impairment in your kid. Based on severity you need to consider the Advantages and Disadvantages of speech therapy at home. Then, consult a registered SLP (do compare fees and therapy length) to help your kid overcome the problem.
1. Kids with speech impairment need therapy for developing conversational skills that help them in their interaction with others.
2. Their ability to express thoughts, ideas, and feelings increases.
3. Their understanding of social cues to self-regulate the conversation improves.
4. Clarity of speech and articulation.
1. It helps the child explore their environment better
2. Helps to receive both oral and written communications
3. Since kids are social beings, they love playing with other children at school or home
4. Speech therapy makes them engage in conversations
5. Their confidence level increases
6. They feel motivated
7. Helps students to perform better.
Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) have received extensive training in the field of human communication, its development, and its problems. Speech, language, cognitive communication, and oral/feeding/swallowing abilities are all evaluated by SLPs. This enables them to determine whether there is a problem as well as the best treatment.
In general, school-based SLPs reported being quite happy in their jobs and having a low level of job stress. By employment factors, they were more difficult to than by student circumstances.
