Speech

Comprehensive Services: Speech

What is Speech Therapy?

Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) provide a variety of services related to communication and feeding/swallowing skills. They have expertise in the physical, developmental, and behavioral aspects of these areas. SLPs have many different specialties which can differ based on the setting and population they work with. They may focus on:

• Speech – The production of speech sounds (e.g., stuttering, articulation, motor speech disorders).
• Language – The words we use that hold meaning and allow for communication or “effective” use of language (e.g., “Hello” representing a greeting).
• Communication – The exchange of ideas with someone else. This can include communicating to meet needs and communicating for social purposes, as well as conversational turn taking and other social rules of communication (i.e., pragmatics).  Communication is multimodal and often includes other cues, such as non-verbal gestures, in addition to spoken language.
• Swallowing and Feeding – Supporting mealtime participation, chewing/swallowing skills, diet expansion, etc.

Speech Therapy with Young Children

When your child is evaluated by an SLP, they will often assess expressive language, receptive language, and speech production. Expressive language is the use of words, gestures, and other means to communicate with others, and receptive language refers to one’s understanding the words and gestures used by others. When working with children under 3 years old, SLPs will often work with parents/caregivers to provide strategies to support these areas at home. As young autistic children often experience delays and differences in their communication, SLPs are an important member of your child’s team. SLPs can support with building early language/emerging communication skills, increasing opportunities for social back-and-forth in play and communication, and introducing additional communication tools (e.g., AAC) when warranted.

For more information and tips from an SLP to support your child’s communication at home, check out our On Time Autism Intervention Podcast episodes (Episode 12) with UW Autism Center speech-language pathologist, Kelleen Dunley, CCC-SLP (see FAQ below).

FAQ for Caregivers or Providers: