Speech Therapy



Speech-language pathologists, who hold a NC License and are certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, provide speech-language evaluations and therapy. Services are provided in homes, daycares, preschools and other community settings for children up to age 21 with a variety of needs such as apraxia, cerebral palsy, cleft palate, developmental delays, feeding difficulties, genetic syndromes, hearing impairment, language disorders, oral-motor weakness, and speech production disorders. Parental involvement in the carry-over of therapy techniques and strategies at home is encouraged.
  

Speech-Language Therapists



When should a child be referred for Speech Therapy?

  • Little sound play or babbling as an infant, with limited number of consonant sounds

  • Poor verbal imitation skills; reliance on direct model and prompting

  • Less than a 50 word vocabulary by 24 months

  • Immature play skills; little pretend play

  • Few communicative gestures

  • Impaired social skills or behavior problems

  • Frustration at not being able to communicate

  • Comprehension delay of six months or greater relative to chronologic age

  • Speech is difficult to understand past age 3

  • History of otitis media

  • History of being a “picky eater” to the point that adequate nutrition is affected