What do Speech Language Pathologists (SLP) do?

As speech-language pathologists, we identify and treat a variety of speech and language delays and disorders occurring in childhood. We start by completing a standardized and comprehensive assessment to discern the specific needs of your child and their speech and language development. From there, a personalized plan of care is developed in partnership with your family to ensure all needs are met.

SLPs often utilize a child-led and play-based approach to engage both client and caregivers in treatment. Our goal is to ensure our services are family-centered, informative, and fun!

  • ARTICULATION

    Articulation (pronunciation) is the ability to physically move the tongue, lips, teeth and jaw to produce sequences of speech sounds, which make up words and sentences.

    Depending on the extent of the difficulties, unclear speech can impact significantly on how well a child can interact with adults and their peers and can affect the development of language and social skills. A child who is having difficulties being understood can become frustrated and angry which may lead to behavioural issues. Articulation is also important in literacy skills such as reading and spelling out of words.

  • FLUENCY

    Fluency refers to continuity, smoothness, rate, and effort in speech production. All speakers are disfluent at times. They may hesitate when speaking, use fillers (“like” or “uh”), or repeat a word or phrase. These are called typical disfluencies or nonfluencies.

  • EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE

    The ability to use language to express our needs, thoughts, and ideas to others using gestures, words, phrases, or sentences. 

     Some common expressive language concerns present as decreased vocabulary, inability to use a sentence or phrase accurately, difficulty sharing thoughts or having a conversation.

  • RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE

    The ability to understand and comprehend spoken or written language. This is the "input" of language. ​

    Receptive language concerns may present as difficulty following directions, difficulty learning new words, or an overall slow progression of language development.