3 Ways Occupational and Speech Therapy could be Helpful for Kids

The responsibility of raising a child is not a stroll in the park. There are several things you have to take care of and take note of. One of the things you should understand is speech milestones for the average child. By knowing this, you can tell if your child is doing fine. If yours is lagging, getting professional help is one of the right things to do.

speech and language therapist working with child


Well, this is just one area occupational and speech therapists can help out. There are several other ways the services rendered by these professionals can come in handy. We will discuss 3 ways they can help in this article and advise every parent and intending parent to keep reading.

Some Ways Occupational and Speech Therapists Can Help Your Kids


speech and language therapist working with child

You need to understand your limits when raising a child. This means there are certain situations that you are well able to handle. In the same vein, some things are just beyond you.

You need professionals and experienced people to help you with those things. Against this backdrop, there may be moments in your child’s life when the services of an occupational and speech therapist are needed.

You should also know that engaging their services early enough could make all the difference and/or save you from a lot of issues. Having established this, here are some ways they can be helpful:

Late Talkers

Parents need to understand the way the average child develops to make informed decisions. As explained earlier, there are expected milestones that your child should accomplish at some stage. It is the same thing with talking. For more on this subject, you can check here.

Your child is supposed to be able to say certain things at certain periods of their lives. The inability to do this may not be a big deal. It could just mean they are taking their time and developing at their own pace.

However, you cannot afford to take chances as a parent. You need to be proactive by getting across to a qualified occupational and speech therapist.

This professional will be able to deduce if there is a problem somewhere. Just in case there is a (minor or major) problem, the expert is trained to offer practical solutions.

Making sure your child can communicate effectively is one reason why you should do this. Other than that, doing it can save your child from having low self-esteem.

This is because the chances of experiencing inferiority complex are common among kids that have difficulty expressing themselves. Some of them do not overcome this sense of inferiority they  grow older. So, you need to call on this expert if there is a need for it.

Speech Delay

There are many similarities between speech delay and the condition discussed above. However, there are distinctions between both as well. We strongly advise that you consult an occupational and speech therapist to shed more light on the difference between both.

However, one of the striking differences is that speech delay has to do with problems experienced with the mechanisms for speech/language production. As a result, the kid has something to say but finds it hard to put it into words.

If the situation is not addressed on time, such children may get into the habit of saying less. This is even when their views need to be expressed. So, getting in touch with an occupational and speech therapist will do them a world of good.

These services can still come in handy even if there is no cause for alarm. This is because they can give professional advice on how to help develop your child’s communication abilities fast. For instance, these experts advise that parents deliberately use everyday situations to communicate with their kids.

Articulation and/or Phonology Disorder

Some kids have neither of the speech problems discussed above. However, this does not mean they do not have any speech-related problems. One of the speech-related problems some children can have is articulation and/or phonology disorder.

The general implication is that they have challenges with certain sounds. You should know that children with this problem stand a better chance if it is addressed on time.

Also, the problem is that many parents turn a blind eye to this condition. Many of them think that the situation will improve as the kid gets older. Well, it does not always turn out this way.

So, getting all the help you need to solve this language use problem is very important and this is where these professionals come in. To better understand this speech disorder, there are four ways you can find out.

First, kids with this challenge omit certain sounds. They avoid using them when talking. They might even make the sounds seem silent even when that is not required. So, omission is the first sign you should look out for.

The second sign is addition. These kids twist the sound by adding to it. They find it difficult to pronounce the sound without adding a little extra.

The third sign is distortion. They pronounce the sound the wrong way even without awkwardly adding to it.

The fourth and last way to know if your child has this speech challenge is substitution. The child uses another sound in place of the right sound. For instance, the child might use a variant of the “w” sound in place of “r”.

The irony is that many of these kids do not even know that they have this problem. This is the more reason it has to be addressed on time, thus the need to engage the services of an occupational and speech therapist.

Collaborative Efforts

Some parents are proactive enough to notice these problems and get help from a qualified occupational and speech therapist. Unfortunately, some of them do not get the desired result (on time).

The major reason is that they leave all the job of helping the child to the professionals. Well, this is not the way it should be. You are supposed to seek the opinion of the expert on helping your child while at home. It is equally important that you adhere to professional advice.

Conclusion

We have only shared 3 speech conditions that occupational and speech therapists can help with. There are several other speech conditions these professionals can help with. You can see SuperTalkers Speech And Occupational Therapy for more on this subject.

Being a good parent also means you need to understand your limits. This will enable you to get help when it is required. We have discussed something along this line here and advice that you make good use of this information if/when the