What Are The Benefits Of Speech Therapy?

Some children have more difficulty building a vocabulary and articulating sounds as compared to others. In such cases, a speech therapist can help. A speech therapist will help your child learn to enunciate properly, build their vocabulary and help them communicate better. Many speech problems such as stuttering begin in early childhood and if left untreated, can continue into the child’s adult life as well. Working with a speech therapist can help prevent this. Some of the benefits of consulting a speech therapist include:

1. Clearer speech: Each sound of the English alphabet is unique. While it is common for children to mispronounce words with complex syllables like bath or shower, a speech therapist is needed when the child cannot pronounce vowels correctly. A speech therapist will then be able to help the child pronounce sounds clearly and speak in a way so that he or she can be understood by others.
2. Reduced dependency on gestures: When a child is not confident speaking or does not know the word for what he wants, he will resort to gestures such as pointing. When you try to teach your child the associated word, he or she may not be receptive to it and may continue to use gestures or use another word for it. In such cases, speech therapists can help build the child’s vocabulary through different exercises. They will also help the child frame sentences so that he does not have to rely on gestures.
3. Improved listening skills: By expanding a child’s vocabulary, a speech therapist can help the child understand simple questions and directions. This allows the child to understand what others are saying to him and be understood by them. Thus, they can help your child become more social and better listeners.
4. Greater independence: For a child to start going o school, he or she needs to have achieved a certain degree of independence. Speech therapists help them achieve that independence by helping them improve their communication skills. When a child learns to speak on his own and can understand what people are saying, he or she will not have to rely on the parents to interpret their gestures and words.
5. Better expression: As a child’s vocabulary grows, so does his ability to express himself. This helps them talk about their feelings, thoughts etc. Thus, a speech therapist can help a shy child become more social by helping him or her speak more clearly.

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