Children with speech sound disorders including apraxia have difficulty coordinating the articulators (ex. tongue, lips, jaw, and palate) to produce age appropriate sounds. For example, a child with an articulation disorder may struggle to produce the /r/ sound and say, "wed" for "red". 

Young children who are difficult to understand typically have phonological processes as well. This means that they are having difficulty producing and understanding patterns of sounds. A child with a phonological disorder may drop all final consonants in words and say, "du" for "duck".  

A speech-language pathologist is skilled in knowing which sounds and phonological processes are developmentally appropriate in a child. 

If your child is experiencing difficulties saying speech sounds and words we can help. 

There are many ways to communicate. Using AAC to compensate for and supplement verbal speech can help your child express themselves independently. Research shows that using AAC will not stop a child from learning to speak, but gives your child the tools they need to express themselves. 

We are passionate about AAC  and can identify and implement an effective AAC system for your child. Many children can benefit from of AAC to help with communication including those diagnosed with autism, cerebral palsy, speech delays, apraxia and more.  

AAC comes in many forms and can include sign language, picture communication symbols (PCS), communication books and high-tech speech generating devices (SGD). If you think your child might benefit from AAC contact us. 

Children with expressive language disorders have difficulty expressing themselves using age appropriate skills.

They  may have difficulty making their wants and needs known, sharing their thoughts, answering questions, giving directions and/or telling stories. 

Children with expressive language disorders may also have difficulty using appropriate grammar and vocabulary. If your child is having difficulty expressing themselves contact us.

Children with receptive language disorders have difficulty understanding language that is heard. 

A child may have trouble understanding questions, following directions, and understanding basic concepts and common vocabulary. 

If you think your child is experiencing difficulty understanding what they hear contact us.

Literacy encompasses reading and writing. At Communicating Kids we help struggling emergent readers including those with dyslexia become confident readers. 

Strong oral language skills are perquisites to written language skills and children struggling to learn to read are typically weak in phonological awareness skills. Phonological awareness is the ability to understand that spoken words are made up of individual sounds and being able to manipulate sounds in words. Phonological awareness skills such as rhyming, identifying sounds in words, identifying syllables and sounding out words  (phonemic awareness ) are precursors to reading and spelling. Interventions targeting phonological skills are proven  to help children who are struggling to read improve reading skills. Phonics comes next and involves matching sounds to printed letters.

At Communicating Kids we work on all literacy skills including reading comprehension, oral narratives, writing, vocabulary and grammar. We can help children answer questions after reading a story, make inferences, identify the main idea and get their ideas onto paper.

If your child is struggling with literacy or reading skills contact us. We can help.

Young children with speech and language delays are behind in reaching speech and language developmental milestones. Your toddler may be difficult to understand, not have words, or not begin putting words together into sentences at an age expected time. If you think your child has a speech or language delay we can help with early intervention. 

Not sure if your child is progressing appropriately? See our developmental milestones and schedule a free consultation. 

Stuttering is often defined as disruptions in the forward flow of speech. Children who stutter may get "stuck" when speaking and repeat words ("my my my") and/or prolong sounds in words ("mmmmy").  

Some disfluencies are normal as young children learn language, A speech-language pathologist is skilled in knowing what disfluencies are typical and what is considered stuttering. Contact us.

Children with social communication disorders demonstrate difficulty using language appropriately in social situations. The child may have trouble understanding the social rules of language in conversation, understanding figurative language and jokes. 

Difficulty with social communication skills and pragmatic language is common in children on the Autism Spectrum. 

At Communicating Kids Speech & Language we use the Social Thinking Methodology in our therapy sessions and social skills groups. Contact us to learn more.