What does speech therapy offer?

Speech and language pathologists (SLPs) work to assess and treat speech, language, social communication, and swallowing disorders in children and adults.

Speech therapy addresses difficulties in producing speech sounds correctly or fluently, or problems with voice or resonance. Sometimes speech therapy is needed when a child has trouble understanding others (receptive language) or sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings (expressive language).

Social communication disorders are another area speech therapy addresses. This occurs when a person has trouble with the social use of verbal and nonverbal communication. This may include problems communicating for social purposes (e.g., greeting, commenting, asking questions), talking in different ways to suit the listener and setting, and following rules for conversation and story-telling.

Lastly, speech therapy is valuable for children who have feeding and swallowing difficulties, which may impact their nutrition, health, and overall well being.

Does my child need speech therapy?

All individuals with autism spectrum disorders have difficulties with communication. This is a key symptom of autism which makes speech therapy an important part of a quality treatment plan.  

Most all children with autism should receive an evaluation from a speech and language pathologist. This can help assess where a child has specific difficulties with communication, whether specific to speech production or reception or difficulties more related to social communication. Speech therapy services can be a vital part of a broader treatment plan and contribute to stronger outcomes for children with autism.   

Multidisciplinary treatment team

Malama Pono Autism Center's speech team takes a collaborative and evidence-based approach to treating the individual needs of our clients through building functional and developmentally appropriate communication skills that will be meaningful at home, school, and in the future.  Our speech and language pathologists are highly experienced in working with individuals with autism and related needs.

These experienced SLPs are tightly woven into our integrated care model. Speech, occupational therapies, and ABA behavioral interventions all work interactively to build a treatment plan that is truly individualized, utilizes the most appropriate and skilled clinicians, and promotes better outcomes for the children in our care.