Blogs

What happens in a Speech Pathology Assessment? Imagine you’re a detective, but instead of solving crimes, you’re helping kids with their speech and language skills. That’s what speech pathologists do! A speech pathology assessment is like a big, friendly investigation to understand how a child is doing with talking, understanding, and sometimes even eating and swallowing. Let’s dive into what happens during this assessment in a fun and simple way. Meeting the Speech Pathologist First, you’ll meet the speech pathologist. This person is super friendly and loves to talk and listen. They will introduce themselves and explain what will happen…

Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is a condition where children have difficulty learning and using language. This means they may find it hard to understand what others are saying and to express their own thoughts and feelings. DLD is not caused by a lack of intelligence or hearing problems; it’s simply a different way the brain develops. Understanding DLD is important because it helps us support children who experience it. Let’s explore what DLD is, how it affects children, and what we can do to help. What is Developmental Language Disorder? DLD is a condition that affects how children understand and…

What is Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS)? Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is a neurological motor speech disorder. Children with CAS have problems saying sounds, syllables, and words. This is not because of muscle weakness or paralysis. The brain has problems planning to move the body parts (e.g., lips, jaw, tongue) needed for speech. The child knows what they want to say, but their brain has difficulty coordinating the muscle movements necessary to say those words. In other words, the child knows what they want to say, but their brain has trouble making the muscle movements in their jaw, tongue,…

Parents often ring our Bondi Junction and Mascot clinics to seek a Speech Pathology assessment for a lisp. A lisp usually occurs when children have difficulty producing the ‘s’ and ‘z’ sounds, and sometimes the ‘sh’, ‘ch’ and ‘zh’ sounds. These sounds are tricky, and require more complex oral movements. If you are concerned that your child may have a lisp, then here are a few things that you should know. There is more than one type of lisp: Interdental: This occurs when a child is saying the ‘s’ and ‘z’ sounds with their tongue coming forward between their teeth….