At Down To Earth, we know language disorders can come from a variety of sources. A child might have a physical handicap that is responsible for trouble hearing, processing, or producing language. It could also be true that the physical parts are working properly, but there are some mental processes that don’t work quite right. Another possibility is that the child is fully capable of doing what you expect, but he hasn’t been taught well enough to do it yet. It could also be true that the child is not hearing or speaking properly on purpose. It is also a possibility that an emotional problem like anxiety or depression is interfering with his ability to use language.
Therefore, at Down To Earth, we do a whole lot of assessment before we do any treatment. We try to pick one theory at a time and either rule it out or find some evidence that we’re on the right track. Imagine how much time would be wasted trying to convince a kid to speak better if he simply cannot because something in his mouth isn’t shaped right. Likewise, hours of speech therapy are wasted on the child who has trouble speaking because she is nervous.
