Because speech and language are critical to social development and academic success, children need strong foundations in communication skills. Laughlin Center’s Speech-Language Department addresses the individual needs of children facing communication challenges, offering specialized treatment methods to help them improve their speech production and develop better understanding and verbal expression of language.

The Speech-Language Department staff members are licensed by Pennsylvania and also hold certification from ASHA, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. They specialize in comprehensive diagnostic evaluations and treatment of children with a wide range of diagnoses. They encourage parents to participate in the progress of their child, with suggestions for in-home practice and support work between on-site therapy sessions.

For children in need of intervention, The Speech-Language Department offers THERAPY SESSIONS based on the latest research findings. By encouraging parent participation and offering suggestions for communication support in the home setting, the speech-language pathologists develop individualized treatment plans that provide children with success and facilitate progress. The speech-language pathologist works closely with each family to maximize their child’s communication development.

Therapists use techniques that are individualized to each child, based on his or her assessment, and address TRADITIONAL SPEECH NEEDS  such as:

•articulation and phonological processes. Also known as speech sound production disorder, a speech sound disorder occurs when a child produces sounds, syllables, or words incorrectly.  A phonological process is a strategy used by young children to simplify speech sound production due to not yet mastering the rules of sound structure;

         

•childhood apraxia of speech. This is a motor speech disorder. Children with apraxia of speech have problems saying speech sounds, syllables, and words because the brain has difficulty planning to move the lips, tongue, and jaw voluntarily for speech;

 

•stuttering. This disorder is an interruption in the flow of speech, characterized by hesitations, interjections, repetitions of words or parts of words, prolongations of speech sounds and blocking of speech;

 

•voice. A voice disorder refers to the quality of a child's voice that may include hoarseness, nasality, or loudness level.

Unlike some speech-language therapy providers, Laughlin Center’s clinicians go beyond these speech issues, and work with children experiencing difficulty with a wide range of COMMUNICATION ISSUES as well:

•delayed receptive and expressive language. Receptive language is understanding communication that we hear; expressive language is those thoughts and ideas that we speak. Delayed language is a noticeable slowness in the development of vocabulary and grammar necessary for both speaking and understanding others;

 

•language-based learning disabilities. Identified when problems with age appropriate reading, spelling, and written language exist with average to above average intelligence. Treatment targets the specific aspects of reading and writing that the child is missing such as vocabulary, following directions, phonological awareness and expressing ideas clearly.  Difficulty with cognitive communication (thinking skills) would include working memory, problem solving, reasoning and judgment;

 

•social communication issues.  Also referred to as a pragmatic language disorder, social communication pertains to the functional use of language. This includes the understanding and application of conversational rules such as maintenance of topic, turn-taking, requesting, and commenting;

 

•autism. Also known as ASD, autism spectrum disorder is a developmental disability that causes children problems with communication, social skills, and reacting to the world around them.

SPEECH-LANGUAGE EVALUATIONS: Comprehensive evaluations assess phonology/articulation (sound skills) receptive-expressive language, voice, fluency, and oral-motor skills. Pure-tone hearing screenings are also offered. A parent consultation follows the completed evaluation.

GATEWAY TO LANGUAGE PROGRAM: Laughlin Center's Gateway to Language program visits preschool classrooms throughout the surrounding communities to screen children and to identify any speech, language, or hearing problems. Parents are advised about findings and recommendations for follow-up care, if needed. Teachers are provided with information about early childhood speech and language development. Laughlin Center charges a nominal fee per child screened to provide this service at the preschool site. Free screenings are available at the Center by appointment. 

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