Speech Pathology
The philosophy of The Little Bookworm is to provide a range of services to target a range of needs. These include:
Intervention for children who have a speech, language or literacy delay or disorder,
Early detection: programs to identify children at risk of developing speech, language or literacy disorders as we know that treatment is more effective when a child is in his/her pre-school years, and
Primary Prevention: providing the community with strategies that parents and carers can use to strengthen oral language skills in very young children, in particular children who have an early delay or are at risk of developing language disorders. Research shows us children who have strong spoken language skills before they enter school have a greater chance of succeeding academically and developing strong literacy skills.
Location: Services are available at The Little Bookworm Speech Pathology clinic which is at 813 Doncaster Rd, Doncaster. Upon request we are also able to do home visits, childcare or kinder visits, and school visits.
Intervention for Children who have a speech or language disorder
Some children require specialist Speech pathology assistance. We provide speech pathology in a relaxed, fun, play based environment for children with conditions such as:
- Late first words
Some children develop speech and language skills later than expected (babbling, use of gestures, understanding words, using words, developing social skills such as eye gaze). If your infant or toddler is not developing as expected (refer to the FAQ for more information), it is important to get an assessment as early intervention is important for some conditions.
- Pre-literacy skills
There are a number of skills children need to develop before they are ready to read. These important pre-literacy skills may need support particularly in the kindergarten year.
- Literacy skills
Children who are not developing reading and/or reading comprehension skills at the expected rate. This may be due to an underlying oral language problem.
- Expressive language problems
Children who have difficulty expressing themselves verbally. This may be due to a problem with the formulation of their speech (ability to produce sounds), knowledge of the sounds used in speech (phonology), knowledge of words (vocabulary), knowledge of sentence structures (grammar), of how language is used in stories (narratives) or in the knowledge of how to use language socially (pragmatics).
- Receptive language problems
Children who seem to have difficulty understanding, or comprehending either verbal or written language. Again, this may be due to problems with the child's underlying sound system (phonology), their knowledge of words (vocabulary), knowledge of sentence structures (grammar), knowledge of how language is used in stories (narratives), and knowledge of words.
- Autism Spectrum Disorders
Children who have a diagnosis or suspected diagnosis of Autism or Asperger's Syndrome often have complex language difficulties. These include a literal understanding of language, difficulties making sense of the rules of social communication, and understanding non-verbal cues such as other people's facial expression. Children with this disorder may also have problems with their understanding of language and their ability to produce language (receptive and expressive language).
Autism may also be accompanied by an intellectual disability. In some cases children with Autism will develop little or no speech, and will communicate using non-verbal communication systems.
- Stuttering
Please note, we do not specialise in treating children with stuttering disorders. If you would like assistance in the treatment of stuttering, we recommend Brenda Carey's clinic www.stopmystutter.com.
To make an appointment call us on 0418 568 010. Initial appointments are usually available within a week or two. Home, childcare, kinder and school visits are available upon request (out of clinic visits incurr a travel fee).
Appointments are available:
- Tuesdays: 9.00 - 5.00
- Wednesdays: 9.00 - 5.00
- Thursdays: 9.00 - 5.00
- Fridays: 9.00 - 5.00
- Saturdays: 9.00 - 5.00
After hours appointments are available on request depending upon availability.
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