Speech Therapy Treatment & Evaluation (SPT)

Speech-language therapy sessions for children are usually 45 minutes in duration which include a wrap-up and summary with parents including carryover activities and recommendations for practice at home.  Home programs and functional carryover activities are important to achieve optimal and timely results.  Session notes are maintained, and progress notes are written as needed or approximately every 12 sessions or 3 months.

Therapists use a variety of strategies, including:

• Language intervention activities: The SLP will interact with a child by playing and talking, using pictures, books, objects, or ongoing events to stimulate language development. The therapist may model correct vocabulary and grammar and use repetition exercises to build language skills.
• Articulation therapy: Articulation, or sound production, exercises involve having the therapist model correct sounds and syllables in words and sentences for a child, often during play activities. The level of play is age-appropriate and related to the child's specific needs. The SLP will show the child how to make certain sounds, such as the "r" sound, and may show how to move the tongue to make specific sounds.
• Oral-motor/feeding and swallowing therapy: The SLP may use a variety of oral exercises including facial massage and various tongue, lips, and jaw exercises to strengthen the muscles of the mouth for eating, drinking, and swallowing. The SLP may also introduce different food textures and temperatures to increase a child's oral awareness during eating and swallowing.