Have you noticed any difficulties in your child speaking or understanding the language or social interactions? Don’t worry we are here to help you. Speech therapy is a common and effective method to clear all these difficulties.
Table Of Contents:
What Are the 6 Types of Speech Therapy?
Language Therapy
A person is helped verbally through language therapy. To do this effectively, one must first understand what the other person is saying. The aims of SLPs (speech-language pathologists) are to improve social interactions, grammar, vocabulary, reading, and listening skills. Techniques and activities are carefully tailored to each person’s requirements.
Articulation Therapy
Proper sound pronunciation is the primary focus of articulation therapy. SLPs use Phonetic placement therapy, the Minimal Pair approach, the Core vocabulary approach, and the Cycles approach to demonstrate proper articulator placement. This helps individuals overcome sound errors and speak more clearly.
Oral Motor Therapy
Oral motor therapy includes facial massages, blowing, chewing, and sucking exercises for people whose oral muscles are weak or stiff. These exercises improve speech clarity as well as support better swallowing, eating, and drinking.
Fluency Therapy
Fluency therapy supports individuals whose speech is interrupted by stuttering or disruptions in flow. Longevity, modified airflow, and the lilypad technique all contribute to increased confidence in communication.
Auditory Verbal Therapy (AVT)
AVT is designed for children with hearing impairment. Beginning with sound awareness, it moves on to sound discrimination and identification, and then it moves on to comprehension. Better progress is ensured when AVT is initiated early, shortly after a child is fitted with hearing aids.
Voice Therapy
Voice therapy addresses voice quality, loudness, and pitch issues. Resonant voice therapy, vocal function exercises, semi-occluded vocal tract exercises, and vocal hygiene programs are the most common techniques used in SLPs. These strengthen vocal quality and restore healthier voice patterns.
What Are the Main Speech Therapy Activities?
Speech therapy for kids offers several activities that can be done at home. Here are some useful activities:
- Regular interaction with your child: Regular conversations improve the communication skill in children.
- Play with children: Plays encourage vocabulary and responses.
- Encourage mocking: Encourage the tendency to mock sounds, words, and gestures.
- Memory boosting games: Games like matching objects or pictures will help to boost the memory power.
- Oro motor practice: Oral muscles can be strengthened through tongue and lip exercises for better clarity in speech.
Types Of Speech Therapy And Its Examples Of Activities
| Types Of Speech Therapy | Examples Of Activities |
|---|---|
| Articulation therapy | Repetition of sounds, tongue/lip exercises, picture card games |
| Language therapy | Storytelling, naming objects, regular conversations |
| Oral Motor therapy | Blowing bubbles, tongue/lip strengthening exercises |
| Fluency therapy | Slow-paced reading, breathing exercises, rhythm-based speaking |
| Auditory Verbal therapy | Sound walks, sound matching games, imitations and mockings |
| Voice therapy | Pitch control exercises, humming, vocal cord relaxation techniques |
When should speech therapy start?
Speech therapy can start at an early period from 6 months but the common time is around 2–3 years. This age range may vary according to the intervention of speech difficulties.
- Early Intervention (Infancy & Toddlerhood): difficulties in normal gestures and sounds.
- Toddlerhood & Preschool (2–5 years): difficulties in language development and clarity in speech.
- School Age & Beyond: difficulties in communication and social interactions for teenagers and adults.
How speech therapy works?
- Right assessment of challenges in speech, language, and voice
- Set a proper goal to overcome these challenges.
- Individualized treatment with proper strategies and activities.
Common areas need proper Exercises:
- Speech sound production
- Language development
- Social interaction skill
- Voice & vocabulary
- Better communication
How to do speech therapy at home?
Practicing speech therapy activities at home plays a big role in speech therapy for kids. It can be done with everyday activities in a funny way.
- Play games that boosts memory power
- Let them to sing songs
- Use positive activities
- Encourage repetition of words
- Tell stories
- Practice tongue movements
- Use visuals
Tips to Choose the Right Speech Therapy Type
- Consider the experience of the therapist
- Choose right place offers effective techniques and approaches
- Affordability
- Insurance coverage
FAQ
We can not say all types of stammering can be cured completely by speech therapy. But the intensity of that condition can be reduced and can make a significant improvement.
There are 6 common types of speech therapy, such as language therapy, articulation therapy, oral motor therapy, fluency therapy, voice therapy, and auditory verbal therapy.
Speech therapy is essential for those who are struggling with difficulties in speech, such as problems in articulation, clarity issues, and language development disorder.