How Online Speech Therapy Can Help With Language Disorders

Communication is one of the most important tools you’ll ever use, both in your personal life and in your professional life. If you or your child is struggling with a speech issue, you naturally feel worried and frustrated. Online speech therapy just may be the key you need to unlock a whole new world of language possibilities for you.

Traditional speech therapy involves face-to-face therapy sessions, which may not always be convenient or feasible.

That’s why online speech therapy can be a healthy, effective alternative for you for treating language disorders in both children and adults.

We’ve compiled a guide on how speech therapy online, also called online speech-language pathology, can help you or your child with language disorders.

Let’s get started!

Articulation

More than 7% of children in the United States between 3 and 17 years old have had disorders related to speech or language during the past year. Adults also suffer from these disorders. Unfortunately, not everyone with these issues pursues the intervention he or she needs.

One of the most common speech-related issues is articulation — an area you can address in online speech therapy. Articulation refers to being able to move the palate, jaw, lips and tongue to generate individual sounds.

For instance, making the “b” sound requires inhaling and then exhaling while turning your voice on. At the same time, you need to bring together your tensed lips to build up your airflow. Then, you release this flow of air by separating your lips.

All of this might seem rather complicated for a seemingly simple sound as “b.” But the truth is that English is one of the toughest languages to master due to its intricacies and complexities.

This is why a high-quality online speech therapist can be invaluable for those dealing with articulation issues.

Listening Skills

Another area a speech therapist can address online using video conferencing is receptive language, or being able to listen to and comprehend language. In many cases, children who are young understand more than what they are able to verbalize.

A speech therapist can introduce your child to brand-new vocabulary terms. Then, the therapist will teach him or her how to utilize this knowledge to take part in conversations, follow directions and respond to questions.

Cognitive Communication

You may suffer from a cognitive-communication disorder if your cognitive processes are impaired. These processes may include the following:

• Executive functions, such as problem-solving, self-monitoring and planning
• Awareness
• Abstract reasoning
• Memory
• Attention

You may have been born with such deficits, or perhaps you acquired them as a result of a degenerative disease, head injury or stroke. An online speech therapist can help you to build your skills in these areas or even teach you compensatory methods for addressing your deficits.

Expression

Speech refers to physically being able to say words. Meanwhile, language refers to a rule-governed, symbolic system utilized for conveying a message.

In English, the symbols people use can be written or spoken, or they can even use gestural symbols to communicate a message. For instance, they may shrug their shoulders, raise their eyebrows or wave depending on the situation.

Online speech therapists can teach your child new terms and how to use them to create sentences and phrases. The therapist’s goal is to help your child to communicate desired messages effectively.

Stuttering

Your child may have a stutter, his or her speech flow is broken. Various types of behaviors are associated with stuttering, including repetitions and prolongations.

Fortunately, a speech-language pathologist can go over strategies with your child for addressing the stuttering behavior. This will ultimately increase his or her intelligibility and fluency.

Social Language

Social language has to do with how a person communicates using language. It involves three core communication skills:

• Utilizing language to convey a message in various ways (e.g., asking questions, protesting, greeting)
• Changing language depending on where you’re using it or with whom (e.g., speaking differently outside versus inside)
• Following conversation rules (e.g., taking turns during a conversation)

An online speech-language pathologist can touch on all three areas, essentially teaching your child how to appropriately take part in conversations.

Education

One of the best reasons to use a speech therapist is that these professionals can empower you to help yourself or your child through education.

Particularly if your child is the one receiving help, the speech therapist will give you the tools you need to help your child during the many hours you interact with him or her. For example, you can apply these tools when you get your child up in the morning, speak with him or her, or even read your child a bedtime story.

So, while your child is completing an online speech therapy session, feel free to take some notes. You and your speech therapist can both play an instrumental role in your child’s language development word by word.

The Online Route

So, you now understand how valuable a speech-language pathologist can be. But what’s the benefit of choosing an online one versus one in person?

The advantages are numerous. For one, you don’t have to spend time traveling to see a therapist. Instead, your therapist will show up right in your living room when you’re ready to start your online session.

Also, when you work with a therapist online, you can enjoy more flexibility when it comes to scheduling sessions, for instance. Plus, you don’t have to worry about annoying geographical limitations. Or inclement weather.

Instead, you can simply focus on overcoming your speech issues with individualized, interactive therapeutic activities online.

How We Can Help with Online Speech Therapy

We can help you or your child to become a more powerful communicator through our live and highly individualized speech therapy services.

We offer the perfect mixture of innovation and traditional expectations — standards that have been effective time and time again with language disorders.

Get in touch with us by clicking the button below to find out more about how we can help you or your child to increase in confidence when it comes to verbal expressions.