SPECIALTY AREAS | Anderson Speech

Welcome!

I'm so glad you're here.

I created Anderson Speech Therapy to meet the need for a speech therapy practice with a dedicated focus on specific disorders impacting clarity of speech and early language delays. I believe that a more narrowed scope of specialization allows for higher quality, evidence-based care for each of my clients, versus the “jack-of-all trades” approach that you may see in more generalized practices. I have pursued continuing education in treating Childhood Apraxia of Speech and other Speech Sound Disorders and I stay closely attuned to the latest research in these areas. My goal is always to provide individualized care that allows each child to communicate to the best of their ability.

If your child has difficulty producing speech or struggles with the pronunciation of certain sounds, you can reach me by email, call, or text message. Let's work together to give your child the communication skills they need to thrive!

Speech Sound Disorders

A Speech Sound Disorder describes when a child has difficulty producing certain sounds or sound patterns. This may involve substituting one sound for another, leaving sounds out of words, or distorting the way sounds are produced. Depending on the type of error(s), the disorder may be further categorized as an “articulation” disorder or a “phonological” disorder.

Some signs your child may have a speech sound disorder and need an assessment include:

Omitting or substituting sounds - for example, saying "tootie" instead of "cookie"
Distorting sounds – such as a “slushy” s or sh sound
Struggling with sound patterns and combinations - like "sp", "tr", "dr" sounds
Being difficult to understand or others commenting they can't understand your child's speech

A formal speech evaluation can help determine if your child needs therapy in order to improve their clarity of speech. Early intervention is important to help your child communicate clearly.

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Childhood Apraxia of Speech

Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is a motor speech disorder that makes it difficult for children to plan out and correctly produce the precise mouth and tongue movements necessary for intelligible speech. Children with CAS know what they want to say, but struggle to coordinate their articulators to form words.

Signs that your child may have CAS and should receive a professional evaluation include:

Limited speech or speech that is difficult to understand
Difficulty combining sounds into syllables and words (the longer the word, the more difficulty)
Inconsistent speech errors and trouble imitating words
Frequent vowel errors

Each child presents differently, so all of these characteristics may or may not be present. I provide formal evaluation for CAS and other speech disorders using standardized assessments. Early diagnosis and tailored treatment is key to helping children with CAS improve their speech.