What Is Speech Therapy & How Does It Work?
Have you ever wondered what speech therapy is? How speech therapy works? What speech therapists actually do? You are not alone!
Many parents hear the term speech therapy being thrown around or find out their little ones need speech therapy without ever getting a real explanation of what speech therapy actually is and what it looks like. And if you’re already on edge about your child’s development, we know that that uncertainty and a lack of information only adds to the nerves and anxiety!
So, if you’re concerned about your child’s speech and language development, if you think they might need speech therapy, or if you know they do, this post is for you. We hope it gives you the answers you need to confidently pursue the treatment and support your family needs. You’ve got this!
(P.S. For the purpose of this blog post, we will be talking about speech therapy for toddlers. But FYI, speech therapists work with people of all abilities and throughout their lifespan!)
What Is Speech Therapy?
Put simply, speech therapy is the treatment of speech, language, and communication disorders.
Speech therapy is carried out by speech-language pathologists, but we often call ourselves speech therapists for simplicity! Following the definition provided by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, we work to prevent, assess, diagnose, and treat speech, language, social communication, cognitive-communication, and swallowing disorders in children and adults.
Your toddler might need speech therapy if they’re not meeting communication milestones the way we would typically expect them to.
Speech Therapy Is Play-Based & Fun!
During speech therapy, it will look like your child is playing—but rest assured, it’s play with a purpose! We use play in therapy because:
Play is how toddlers learn
Play helps toddlers make sense of new concepts and practice what they’ve learned
Play builds connection (an essential component between therapist and child)
Play helps accomplish certain speech and language goals
We also use play because we want to make speech therapy fun for kids! Think bubbles, stickers, farm animals, the whole thing. The more fun toddlers have in speech therapy, the more likely they are to stay engaged. And we know that along with repetition, engagement leads to meaningful improvements in speech and language development.
Speech Therapy Is Goal-Oriented
Speech therapy doesn’t take a one-size-fits-all approach. Your therapist will target your child’s specific needs and build upon their strengths. It’s very individualized and very intentional!
Speech therapy also relies on stair-stepping: working on smaller goals in a way that adds up to achieving BIG ones. Speech therapists are really great at taking high-level goals and breaking them down into small, manageable, bite-sized parts. They’ll also identify all the little, foundational skills that lead up to bigger, desired skills, and help your child master those first. If it helps, you can think of it as stepping stones! Here’s an example:
Goal: Communicating Wants & Needs
Speech Therapist Observation: Child isn’t yet imitating gestures!
Step 1: Imitating Physical Movements (Waving, Clapping, Knocking)
Step 2: Imitating Animal & Environmental Sounds (Beep Beep, Moo, Uh Oh!)
Step 3: Imitating Real Words
Step 4: Using Words Independently To Communicate Wants & Needs
What Does A Speech Therapist Do?
Speech therapists (also known as speech-language pathologists or SLPs) treat and work with people of all ages and abilities who have speech, language, and/or communication delays.
Speech therapists can help when a child is born with a diagnosis and may benefit from extra support, when a child isn’t meeting certain speech or language milestones, or when an event like a traumatic accident or illness affects a child’s communication skills.
What Speech Therapists Treat
Speech therapists support children with delays or concerns in any of the following areas:
Speech
Language
Voice
Fluency
Social Communication
Feeding
Swallowing
How Does Speech Therapy Work?
We know starting therapy is nerve-wracking and that you probably have a lot of feelings about it. That’s totally normal. Just know that your SLP will be doing everything they can to make the transition a smooth one for your family! We are on your side. Here’s how it works:
#1 Speech Assessment
The first step in the process is an assessment (also called an evaluation) by a speech-language pathologist. The assessment is important because it helps us determine whether or not your child really needs speech and language therapy at that point in time! And, if it turns out your little one does, then it’s the time when your therapist will create a plan to support your child.
Typically, you can request a speech and language assessment by visiting your pediatrician or through your child’s school. Depending on where you live, there may also be early intervention programs available.
#2 Individualized Plan
One of the things your speech therapist does during your child’s assessment is determine their unique areas of strength as well as the areas of speech and language development they may need help improving.
Once they better understand your child, they use the information they’ve collected to create an individualized plan for how they’ll help. Going forward, that plan serves as the roadmap for supporting your child and your family while you work towards these goals as a team.
#3 Speech Therapy Sessions
Now that goals have been set and your child’s plan is in place, regular speech therapy sessions can begin! Typically, speech therapy sessions last 30 to 60 minutes and happen once or twice a week.
If the idea of speech therapy feels intimidating, try to remember that sessions are fun, play-based, and toddler-friendly. We know how to work with your child, and don’t worry! We don’t expect them to sit still for a whole hour.
#4 Caregiver Support
A lot of work happens between your child and their speech therapist—but not all the work! A big piece of speech therapy for toddlers is teaching you, the family and caregivers, how to best support your child’s developing communication skills at home (or in other familiar environments, like daycare). The MOST progress will be made when you and your SLP work together!
Answering Your Speech Therapy FAQs
If your child is starting speech therapy soon or if you think they may need to, chances are you have ALL the questions. As speech therapists ourselves, we can help by answering those questions and (hopefully) giving you the confidence you need to walk into your appointment knowing you can handle it.
Where does therapy take place?
Speech therapy can take place:
At Home
In Daycare
In Public or Private Clinics
At The Hospital
Through Early Education Programs
How long will my child be in speech therapy?
We hate to say it depends, but it really does depend. Every child is so different! Some children only go to therapy for a few months whereas children with disabilities often benefit from ongoing therapy. The time it takes to see the progress we want to see will depend on all kinds of factors.
It’s important for parents to know that sometimes SLPs can predict how long therapy will last, but not always. We know that uncertainty is hard to handle, but we just don’t want to promise or predict things that we’re not sure about. If your SLP can give you a timeline, they’ll likely only do so after they’ve had a few sessions with your child. (Hang in there, mama!)
How can I help my child during therapy?
We’re SO glad you asked! As we mentioned above, your child will see the biggest improvements when you partner up with your SLP and work on speech therapy goals at home. But don’t worry, we don’t expect you to just know what to do! We’ll spend a good amount of your child’s sessions teaching you tips, tricks, and tools. Sessions are typically 30-60 minutes long, but we pack a LOT into those minutes, so you’ll have plenty to work on with your child at home.
What’s the best age to start speech therapy?
The best age to start speech therapy depends on your child and what speech and language milestones they might be meeting or missing. But if you’re concerned that your child needs speech therapy, the earlier you can start the process, the better! Because early intervention has been shown to make a HUGE impact on children’s skills and abilities.
Related: Best Age To Start Speech Therapy
Related: The Importance Of Early Intervention
Track Your Child’s Speech & Language Milestones
If you’re concerned that your child might need speech therapy, or if you’re curious about development and want to know what skills you can expect your child to master next, track your child’s speech-language milestones!
Our free language milestones checklist makes this simple and easy to do! Click the link below to grab your copy.