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Let’s Talk About How SLPs Support Your Child’s Development

May is National Speech Language Hearing Month - a time to raise awareness about communication differences and the impactful role speech-language pathologists (SLPs) play in helping children thrive.


SLPs are trained professionals who support development across many essential areas - language, social communication, articulation, fluency, and cognitive skills like problem solving and planning. Here’s a closer look at how SLPs can support your child’s growth.


SLP with child

Expressive Language: Helping Your Child Express Their Thoughts Clearly


An SLP can support your child in developing the building blocks of communication, including: 

  • Labeling vocabulary

  • Using grammar and sentence structure accurately

  • Expanding phrase length

  • Describing and comparing/contrasting

  • Answering questions

  • Retelling stories

  • Using a variety of communicative intents (e.g., requesting, commenting, protesting, etc.)

  • Transferring thoughts into written language


Receptive Language: Understanding the World Around Them


SLPs also help individuals make sense of what they hear by strengthening:

  • Comprehension of words, phrases, & sentences

  • Understanding of basic concepts

  • Vocabulary identification

  • Story comprehension


Social Communication: Exploring Meaningful Connection


SLPs support social-emotional development by helping their clients:

  • Participate in identity exploration

  • Build self-advocacy skills

  • Identify and express emotions

  • Build meaningful relationships

  • Understanding multiple perspectives. When using a neurodiversity affirming approach, it’s important to remember that neurotypical perspectives and neurodivergent perspectives are equally valid. At Blume, we believe that perspective-taking goes both ways because social interaction is a two-way process. Stay tuned for a future blog post that dives deeper into this topic!


Articulation: Increasing Speech Clarity


Whether a child is mispronouncing sounds or speaking quickly, SLPs help increase clarity of communication by addressing:

  • Misarticulated or omitted sounds

  • Speech intelligibility

  • Rate and rhythm of speech


Fluency: Supporting Confident Speech


When individuals experience disruptions in speech flow, SLPs can support their clients by providing strategies for:

  • Sound/syllable repetitions (e.g., “s-s-s”)

  • Whole word repetitions (e.g., “my-my-my”)

  • Interjections (e.g., “the…like…dog”)

  • Revisions (e.g., “I was- I like the dog”)

  • Phrase repetitions (e.g., “I want…I want up”)

  • Managing unexpected pauses or blending or sounds

  • Speech that sounds rapid/unclear


Executive Functioning: Strengthening Cognitive Skills


SLPs also support cognitive-linguistic skills that are essential for learning and everyday activities, including: 

  • Working memory

  • Self-monitoring

  • Problem solving and reasoning

  • Planning, organization, and time management

  • Task initiation and completion


AAC: Supporting All Methods of Communication


For kids and teens who are nonspeaking or minimally speaking, SLPs may introduce and support the use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems. Some examples of AAC include: gestures, sign language, picture boards, speech generating devices (SGD), etc. AAC can open doors for individuals to express themselves, build meaningful relationships, and fully participate in their communities.


An SLP’s role in supporting AAC use includes:

  • Identifying the right AAC tools for a child’s needs

  • Educating clients and families how to use AAC effectively

  • Promoting AAC as a valid, empowering communication modality

  • Supporting language development through AAC use in daily life


From expressive language to executive functioning, our SLPs meet each client where they are with compassion, expertise, and an affirming lens. This National Speech-Language-Hearing Month, we celebrate the transformative impact SLPs have on the lives of kids, teens, and their families. 


If you’ve ever wondered whether your child would benefit from speech and language support, reach out to our team at hello@blumekidstherapy.com to learn more!


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