Who do I work with

 

I provide services for students with, or who are at risk for, articulation, fluency, voice, language, communication, swallowing, and related disabilities.

 

                                                                                  

Articulation Disorder: 

An articulation disorder is a speech disorder that affects the phonetic level. The child has difficulty saying particular consonants and vowels. The reason for this may be unknown (e.g., children with functional speech disorder who do not have serious problems with muscle function); or the reason may be known (e.g., children with dysarthria who do have serious problems with muscle function).

Fluency (Stuttering) Disorder: 

Stuttering disrupts the fluency of speech. Also referred to as "dysfluencies" or "nonfluencies", they may be in the form of prolongations, blocks or repetitions. One or any combination of these features may be present, consistently or variably.

Voice Disorder:

Voice disorders include abnormalities in the pitch (too high/too low), quality (hoarse/breathy, tight/harsh) , loudness (inadequate/too loud), or resonance (hyponasal, such as when you have a cold, or hypernasal, when there is too much sound coming through the nose) of the voice.

Language Disorder: 

Language disorders include difficulty with the following at the receptive and/or expressive level: 1) word meaning and relationships, 2) word structure, 3) word retrieval, 4) phrase structure, 5) sentence structure, 6) discourse and text, 7) pragmatics, 8) comprehension, and 9) processing.

Communication Disorder: 

A communication disorder is an inability to understand or use speech and language to relate to others in society. Known causes of communication disorders include: 

• Hearing Impairment: Full or partial hearing impairment may cause difficulty in speech and language development.

• Physical Disability: Cleft lip and palate, or malformations of the mouth or nose may cause communication disorders.

• Developmental Disability: Developmental disabilities are a diverse group of severe chronic conditions that are due to mental and/or physical impairments. People with developmental disabilities have problems with major life activities such as language, mobility, learning, self-help, and independent living.

Swallowing Disorder:

Difficulty in swallowing (dysphagia) refers to the inability or difficulty in passing food or liquid from the mouth to the stomach. This may be caused by many factors, most of which are temporary and not threatening. Difficulties in swallowing sometimes represent a more serious disease, such as a tumor or a progressive neurological disorder.

For more information on Speech, Language or Hearing:

visit www.asha.org or www.herring.org/speech.html