Speech Language Therapy

You can schedule a speech therapy with an SLP at American Hospital Dubai by submitting our secure web form or calling us at: +971 43775500.

There are several techniques that speech therapists employ to help patients combat speech issues of any severity. Some of them are:

• Articulation therapy, is employed to help the patient produce certain sounds and articulate different parts of speech properly.
• Language intervention therapy, focuses on helping the patient develop speech abilities.
• Oral motor therapy, helps the patient with speech delays or injuries and ailments affecting their ability to speak properly.
• VitalStim therapy, is employed to help patients with dysphagia to eat, drink, swallow and speak correctly.
• Lee Silverman speech therapy (LSVT), assists the patient with swallowing, articulation, and improved facial expression.

Evident from several studies, speech therapy has proven extremely effective for helping children and adults with speech impairments develop and improve communication skills.

As speech therapy is an intervention service that can assist with brain development, speech and communication, relationship building, and can improve overall quality of life, it is meant for everyone struggling with the following issues:

• Speech impairments due to illness or injuries
• Speech delays or regressions
• Language issues
• Trouble understanding simple sentences
• Infrequent talks
• Difficulty in socializing with others
• Dysphagia or inability to swallow

Time required for a speech therapy to produce desired results is determined by various factors, including the type and severity of a speech disorder, age, underlying medical condition, frequency of therapy sessions and affordability. However, the earlier the speech issue is diagnosed, the quicker therapy progresses and the lesser time is required.  

Some speech impairments may not require any treatment, and go away on their own. Others can require speech therapy to improve; hence treatment varies and, is dependent on the type of disorder.

It is difficult to provide cost estimation here, as speech therapy charges are determined by various factors, such as therapist’s fee, frequency and intensity of therapy sessions, type of speech therapy, and the service provider’s charges. However, it typically is covered by health insurance providers in many cases. Please check with your insurance provider to see what’s covered before scheduling a session.

As a conventional practice, speech therapy begins with an assessment by a Speech-language Pathologist (SLP). The assessment helps identify the type of speech disorder and determine the best way to treat it. For children, it involves:

• Language intervention through talking and playing to stimulate language development
• Engagement in different activities to develop and correct certain sounds
• Counselling to parents on how to practice speech therapy at home

For adults, speech therapy includes various exercises to improve their social and cognitive skills. These are:

• Problem solving, memory, and organization
• Conversational strategies
• Breathing exercises
• Oral-muscle strengthening exercises

Needless to state that home practice can increase the effectiveness of a speech therapy. So whether you suspect mild delays or articulation problems in your kid, or your kid has serious speech regressions, it’s advisable to consult an SLP for proper evaluation and treatment of the condition. Your SLP should be able to guide you on the effective ways to improve your child’s skills at home.

An SLP will determine the length of a therapy session based on the type and severity of an issue, type and intensity of the employed speech therapy, and patient’s age and overall wellbeing.   

As mentioned above, a Speech Therapist can assist children and adults with:

• Speech impairments due to illness or injuries
• Speech delays or regressions
• Language issues
• Trouble understanding simple sentences
• Infrequent talks
• Difficulty in socializing with others
• Dysphagia or inability to swallow

While advantages of speech therapy outweigh disadvantages, you may find it frustrating that speech therapy is a time-consuming session for both the kid and parents. It can require parents to practice lessons, learnt during the session, with a kid at home too. This can put extra pressure on parents trying to manage the kid’s therapy routine.

It’s never too late for speech therapy. However, the sooner you identify any potential problems in your child’s speech and social skills, the quicker you will be able to address them. SLPs are trained to work will patients of all ages.

Speech therapy is a specialized therapy that focuses on improving speech and communication skills, as well as optimizing abilities to understand and express. It’s administered by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) or speech therapists.

Parenting a child who has recently been diagnosed with a speech regression or speech delay can be overwhelming. If you’ve schedule a speech therapy for your child, here’s how you can prepare him/her:

• Condition your child about what will happen in the therapy session
• Practice lessons learnt during the therapy session at home
• Don’t set high expectations from your child to improve speech, communication or social skills immediately
• Prepare yourself too, to participate in the therapy sessions           
• Create a reward system, by giving a reward after each therapy session

During an initial consultation, the speech therapist will ask about your concerns regarding your child’s speech, language, social, and/or communications difficulties.

Depending on the communication issue, an SLP may ask you about the following areas:

• How your child communicates (including pronunciation, voice, and fluency)
• Your child’s language expression (including vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure)
• Language comprehension (what your child understands)
• The ages your child reached different developmental milestones
• Play and social communication skills (to assess how your child communicates through body language, eye contact, and greetings etc.)

For older children, Speech-Language Pathologists may also assess reading and writing skills.

The therapist will use this informal assessment to establish an appropriate treatment plan for your child, and discuss that with you in detail.

It is important to identify the developmental milestones as a child grows. If you notice that your child demonstrates a potential delay in any of the developmental milestone, please seek immediate expert consultation. Only an SLP can evaluate behavioral and developmental concerns and determine whether or not your child requires speech therapy.