I had the amazing opportunity to interview a Speech Language Pathologist named Tina Dowling. Tina works in an elementary school, specializing in Speech Sound Disorders in Children. Working with Speech Disorders in Children means early diagnosis and intervention are extremely important. One on One's and visiting Kindergarten, first grade, and second grade classrooms help a Speech Pathologist listen to children, and assess whether or not they have a problem with their speech. Talking with teachers, and parents are also important in assessing a child. There are many steps in order to diagnose a child with a Speech Disorder. The first step includes looking for signs that a child has a Speech problem. The next step is watching the child, studying their case history, and testing them to diagnose them with a Specific Speech Disorder. .
The final step is to perform the appropriate therapy needed to help the child reach their full potential. In order to understand these steps, and the reasons behind them, it is important to understand the causes of Speech Disorders in children. In order to understand the causes, it is important to understand what a Speech Sound Disorder is. "A Speech Sound Disorder involves difficulty with and/or slowness in the development of a child's speech. The term 'speech sound disorder(s)' is an umbrella heading under which there are several sub-categories that include articulation disorder, phonological disorder and childhood apraxia of speech. Speech sound disorder is sometimes called 'speech impairment' or 'speech difficulties'." (slp.com).
In order to speak we need six body mechanisms. These include Auditory, Phonetory, Articulatory, Neurological, Resinatory, and Respiratory. Without proper use of one or more of these functions, "normal" speech sounds may be impaired. There are many causes that can lead to Speech Sound Disorders in children.