If you are a parent and observe that your child is lacking some communicative skills, you should consider putting them in speech therapy sessions. On average, many teenagers struggle with speaking in public areas or in front of a crowd. It’s better to speak with a Speech-Language pathologist (SLP) as they can help your teen kid overcome their fear. In this article, we will talk about why speech therapy is necessary and how it can improve your child’s life.
Why Are Speech Communication Skills Necessary?
Before moving on to briefs, let’s talk about why speech communication skills are necessary for your kid. Speech communication skills can help your child achieve his goals easily; it can help him create new bonds with people, it can help them interact with a lot of people at once without any fear or issues, etc.
Possible Types of Communication Issues in Teens:
There are lots of speech development issues one may go through. Some communication disorders are:
- Fluency Disorder: Fluency disorder can be identified by seeing someone facing disruption in their flow of speech. Common signs of disruptions are repetitions, interruptions, sound prolongation, etc.
- Expressive Language Disorder: Expressive language disorder can be identified when someone faces problems with difficulty or delay in speaking or expressing their thoughts and words. They face problems in structuring their sentences.
- Articulation Disorder: Articulation disorder can be identified by mispronunciation of words, making the speech sound unclear.
- Social Language Disorder: Social language disorder can be unidentified when someone can’t interact with others easily. Some common examples are not making eye contact, not understanding the conversation, or turning the conversation into a different thing due to the lack of skill.
What Causes Communication Disorder in Teens?
After learning about the common types of speech disorders, it’s time you should know what are the causes of communication disorders:
- A genetic disorder or Down Syndrome
- Premature birth or low birth weight
- Brain tumor
- Brain injury
- Developmental delay
- Hearing impairment
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
How is Speech Disorder Diagnosed?
To know if your child needs speech therapy or has a communication disorder, you should consult Jamie Webber, a Speech-Language pathologist (SLP). The pathologist will run an assessment to find if your child has a communication disorder by asking questions and getting an interview from the family and the child.
After completing the assessment, the pathologist will understand if your child has a communication disorder. By knowing the type and degree of the disorder, the pathologist will create a course of treatment that will be the best for your child and improve their speech and language disorders.
How Can Speech Therapy Help A Teen?
After completing the Speech Therapy, a child will get:
- Improved articulation skills
- Increased vocabulary
- Improved language skills
- Improved social skills
- Improved fluency, etc.
Speech therapy can be very beneficial for your child and their future. It’s suggested to consult a pathologist before making any clear assumptions that your child has a communication disorder. A pathologist will provide the best course for your kid, improving many aspects of their life.
