​​​​STEP-BY-STEP LEARNING​

SPEECH THERAPY AND CONSULTATION
BABC offers Speech and Language therapy, consultation and evaluation and focuses on diagnosing and treating the unique needs of individual with communication and language disorders and deficits. A speech therapy program begins with an evaluation by a speech-language pathologist (SLP) to assess the communication strengths and challenges, treatment goals and interventions.  


Our Speech and Language evaluations address:
Receptive language problems: Trouble understanding (receiving) language.
Expressive language problems: Trouble speaking (expressing) language.
Pragmatic language problems: Trouble using language in socially appropriate ways.
Articulation problems: Not speaking clearly and making errors in sounds.
Fluency problems: Trouble with the flow of speech, such as stuttering.
Resonance or voice problems: Trouble with voice pitch, volume and quality.
Oral feeding problems: Difficulty with eating, swallowing and drooling.

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Examples of the skills that speech therapy may work on include:
Strengthening the muscles in the mouth, jaw and neck
Making clearer speech sounds
Matching emotions with the correct facial expression
Understanding body language
Responding to questions
Matching a picture with its meaning
Using a speech app on an iPad to produce the correct word
Modulating tone of voice


​Speech disorders occur when a person has difficulty producing speech sounds correctly or fluently (e.g., stuttering is a form of disfluency) or has problems with his or her voice or resonance.

Language disorders occur when a person has trouble understanding others (receptive language), or sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings (expressive language). Language disorders may be spoken or written and may involve the form (phonology, morphology, syntax), content (semantics), and/or use (pragmatics) of language in functional and socially appropriate ways.


Social communication disorders occur when a person has trouble with the social use of verbal and nonverbal communication. These disorders may include problems (a) communicating for social purposes (e.g., greeting, commenting, asking questions), (b) talking in different ways to suit the listener and setting, and (c) following rules for conversation and story-telling. All individuals with autism spectrum disorder have social communication problems. Social communication disorders are also found individuals with other conditions, such as traumatic brain injury.


Cognitive-communication disorders include problems organizing thoughts, paying attention, remembering, planning, and/or problem-solving. These disorders usually happen as a result of a stroke, traumatic brain injury, or dementia, although they can be congenital.


Swallowing disorders (dysphagia) are feeding and swallowing difficulties, which may follow an illness, surgery, stroke, or injury.

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