Speech therapy done virtually can address the same needs as in person. Speech therapy sessions focus on speech, language and feeding development. Areas that can be addressed include:
- Supporting a child to produce target speech sounds (e.g. working on /th/, /s/, or /r/ sounds)
- Saying one sound for another (e.g. kack for tack; guck for duck; keen for clean; bu for bus; no for nose)
- Stuttering– your child has a hard time getting words out (e.g. “I want a……. cookie.”); stretches a sound (e.g. coooooooookie); or repeats part of the word (e.g. co-co-co-cookie)
- Working on how the voice sounds, such as loud vs soft, hoarse vs smooth, high/low pitch versus even pitch
- How a child is understanding what others say, such as following directions
- How a child tells others what they want and need, and for them to be understood by a new person
- Social skills, such as having conversations with their friends and adults
- Use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems, such as Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) or speech-generating devices (SGDs)
- Expanding a child’s current food preferences to explore different types of food
- Supporting a child’s development of oral motor skills through the use of different foods and tools. This is beneficial when transitioning from a bottle and/or sippy cup to an open cup or straw.
