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Children's Speech, Language and Learning Services is a private pediatric practice established in 1991 by Janet Knutson, MS, CCC-SLP. Each therapist and tutor is recognized for dedication and excellence in providing quality services to children and families.Our Speech and Language Pathologists hold Masters Degrees, and are licensed by the American and Indiana Speech, Language and Hearing Associations. As a group, we offer comprehensive services, with specialty areas including evaluation and treatment of the following;

Click on links below to learn more.
Early Language and Speech Development Oral Motor and Feeding Problems
Receptive Language Disorders Stuttering Disorders
Expressive Language Disorders Learning Disabilities and Differences
Auditory Processing Disorders Phonological and Phonemic Awareness Disorders
Articulation Disorders Reading and Spelling Disorders

ORAL MOTOR AND FEEDING PROBLEMS
There are many different muscles involved in the process of eating, swallowing and speaking. Even the muscles in the shoulders and torso can affect how well the oral-motor muscles work. Speech and feeding skills can break down if even one of these muscle groups is weakened, unstable, or if a child has difficulty in sequencing muscle movements. When muscles in these areas are weak (sometimes referred to as "dysarthria"), the primary goal of therapy is to strengthen the overall system before improving specific feeding or speaking issues.  

Feeding problems can take many different forms such as; 

  • Weak or absent sucking skills

  • Tongue thrusting

  • Lack of ability to bite or chew foods

  • Unsafe swallowing

  • Lack of endurance to finish an age-appropriate meal

  • Difficulty in tolerating a wide variety of tastes or textures

With any of these problems, a Speech and Language Pathologist who has been specifically trained in Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing can help to improve a child's skills. Treatment typically focuses on changing the child's positioning or equipment, or directly improving the child's movements and/or strength during eating. 

When a child has difficulty sequencing oral muscle movements, he may say a given word once, then not say it as well when attempting the same word another time. Some children may not be speaking at all by a later age. When this type of difficulty in speech sequencing is present, it is typically labeled "oral dyspraxia" or "oral apraxia." In this case, the ability to imitate oral motor movements must be specifically addressed prior to working on speech. A child may also need physical help in moving his oral-muscles, because he cannot figure out how to plan the motor movements that are being demonstrated to him. In this case, a Speech and Language Pathologist can use specific types of therapy programs, such as PROMPT®, which can assist the child in moving the muscles of the tongue, lips, and jaw.

Links
www.apraxia-kids.org   (Developmental Apraxia of Speech)

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