Who are
Speech-Language Pathologists, and what do they do?
Speech-language pathologists, also called SLPs, are experts in communication. SLPs work with people of all ages, from babies to adults. SLPs treat many types of communication and swallowing problems. These include problems with:
Speech sound
How we say sounds and put sounds together into words. Other words for these problems are articulation or phonological disorders, apraxia of speech, or dysarthria.
Language
How well we understand what we hear or read and how we use words to tell others what we are thinking. In adults, this problem may be called aphasia.
Literacy
How well we read and write. People with speech and language disorders may also have trouble reading, spelling, and writing.
Social communication
How well we follow rules, like taking turns, how to talk to different people, or how close to stand to someone when talking. This is also called pragmatics.
Voice
How our voices sound. We may sound hoarse, lose our voices easily, talk too loudly or through our noses, or be unable to make sounds.
Fluency
Also called stuttering, is how well speech flows. Someone who stutters may repeat sounds, like t-t-t-table, use "um" or "uh," or pause a lot when talking. Many young children will go through a time when they stutter, but most outgrow it.
Cognitive-communication
How well our minds work. Problems may involve memory, attention, problem-solving, organization, and other thinking skills.
Services
The It Takes Two to Talk® Program teaches you, step-by-step, how to become your child’s most important language teacher.
The program shows you how to
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Recognize your child’s stage and style of communication so that you know which steps to take next.
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Identify what motivates your child to interact with you so you’ll know how to get conversations started.
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Adjust everyday routines to help your child take turns and keep interactions going.
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Follow your child’s lead to build his confidence and encourage him to communicate.
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Add language to interactions with your child to help him understand language and then use it when he is ready.
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Tweak the way you play and read books with your child to help him learn the language.
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Change the way you speak to your child so that he’ll understand and learn new words.
Program components
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6-8 training sessions for parents in small, personalized groups.
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A Hanen Certified speech-language pathologist leading the program.
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A pre-program consultation for you and your child with the speech-language pathologist.
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Three individual visits for you and your child with the speech-language pathologist in which you are videotaped while practicing strategies to help your child achieve specific communication goals. You and the speech-language pathologist then watch the videotaped interaction to “see” what’s helping your child and what you can modify to help even more.