Areas of Practice
Mrs. Marci's Speech Party believes that children learn best when they are having fun! All speech therapy sessions are tailored to meet the needs of each individual child and their family.
RECEPTIVE AND EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE
Language refers to the words we use and how we use them to communicate wants, needs, feelings, and ideas.
Receptive language is the understanding of language. Children with a receptive language delays may have difficulty understanding what gestures mean, following directions, answering questions, identifying objects and pictures, and taking turns when talking with others. Receptive language delays often present along with an expressive language delay. Parents may say that it seems like their child does not hear them because they don't respond, but they hear other sounds in the environment.
Expressive language is the ability to express oneself using language. An expressive language delay may cause difficulty asking questions, naming objects, using gestures, putting words together into sentences, learning songs and rhymes, using correct pronouns, and knowing how to start a conversation and keep it going. An expressive language delay may co-exist with a receptive language delay or it may stand alone. Some parents will state that their child understands everything but is not able to talk.
Mrs. Marci gets very excited about child-centered, play-based language therapy!
ARTICULATION AND PHONOLOGY
Articulation refers to the way speech sounds are made using tongue, teeth, lips, jaw, palate, and breath. Phonology is the brainwork that organizes the speech sounds into the sound patterns to be produced verbally. Children with articulation and phonological disorders are often described as difficult to understand by unfamiliar listeners.
Sometimes articulation errors are caused by an underlying medical problem (ex: cleft palate, hearing loss, tongue tie), but often times there is no known cause.
Articulation errors are common in children when they first learn to speak; however, if these errors are outside of the window of typical development we would be glad to discuss treatment options with you! Visit our resources page for more information on typical articulation development.
SOCIAL SKILLS
Social skills, or pragmatic language, refers to the social use of language. These skills can be verbal (asking appropriate questions, speaking on topic and in turn, problem solving) or non-verbal (eye contact, flexibility and cooperation, empathy). Skills like waving bye-bye, engaging in pretend play, and turn taking are other examples of early developing pragmatic skills.
Sometimes a delay in social skills can be a red flag for other developmental disabilities; however, a delay in pragmatics can also exist on its own.
Delays in social skills can cause behavior problems and difficulty with peer relations. Many times children with a delay in pragmatic skills are misinterpreted as having “bad” behavior when, in truth, they just haven’t learned the rules of social interaction yet.
AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
While the autism itself isn’t a speech disorder, it makes this list because the two go hand-in-hand more often than not. The ability of children with autism to communicate and use language varies from child to child; however, it is typical for a child with autism to experience difficulty with both their understanding and use of spoken language.
Some children with autism may not be using any spoken language and some may have very limited speaking skills. Others may have larger vocabularies and be able to talk about specific subjects in great detail. Many have problems with eye contact, facial expressions, turn-taking, sensory processing, echolalia, perseveration, and other social skills. Together, these difficulties affect the ability of children with autism to interact with others, especially peers.
Mrs. Marci really enjoys helping children with autism build the foundational skills required for communication and social interactions!
OTHER DIAGNOSES
Many times, speech and language difficulties are secondary to a primary medical, physical, or neurological diagnosis. If a child is born with a cleft palate, genetic disorder (such as Down’s Syndrome or Fragile X), or hearing impairment, speech and language development is often impacted as well.
Mrs. Marci has experience working with populations including but not limited to: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Hearing Impaired, and Traumatic Brain Injury.
Mrs. Marci's Speech Party will work with other professionals that are relevant to your child’s needs to ensure that your child receives all the assistance that is required for his/her progress.
Mrs. Marci is happy to discuss your speech and language concerns and determine if an evaluation and/or therapy seems necessary.