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Why do some children need speech-language therapy?

Kids might need speech-language therapy for many reasons, including:

  • Hearing impairments
  • Cognitive (intellectual, thinking) or other developmental delays
  • Weak oral muscles
  • Chronic hoarseness
  • Cleft li or palate
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder
  • Motor planning problems
  • Articulation problems
  • Fluency disorders
  • Respiratory problems (breathing disorders)
  • Feeding and swallowing disorders
  • Traumatic brain injury

Therapy should begin as soon as possible. Children who start therapy early (before they’re 5 years old) tend to have better results than those who begin later.

This doesn’t mean that older kids won’t do well in therapy. Their progress might be slower, though, because they have learned patterns that need to be changed.