Preschool Speech & Language Therapy

The Auburn University Speech and Hearing Clinic offers both individual and group treatment for preschool children with language disorders. Contrary to the popular belief that individual therapy is always the best, preschoolers often benefit more from language treatment groups made up of same-age peers. Some children can benefit from a combination of individual and group therapy. Often, our clinicians will travel to a child’s preschool program or even the child’s home environment to provide treatment that is relevant to the youngster’s life.

Types of Therapy

Picture of preschool play room There are a wide variety of language treatment programs for preschool children ranging from play-oriented therapy to more structured drill-oriented treatments. All of these treatments have had some measure of success in the research literature, however, each child is different and an individualized program will be planned for each case. Variables such as the child’s age, attentional ability, social skills, play level and language level will all be considered in making the decision about the type of treatment recommended. Most children find the treatment activities fun and are eager to participate.

Parent Involvement

The involvement of parents in the clinic therapy and a home program of treatment is especially important for preschool language cases. Our clinic will provide individualized parent training as a part of our services for each case and develop a home program that will complement the treatment done in the clinical setting. Parents are encouraged to participate in treatment sessions when appropriate and watch sessions in our observation facilities as frequently as they wish.

Progress

Every semester parents will be provided with data showing their child’s progress in treatment and suggestions will be made as to how the program should be modified to incorporate new goals if the child is not dismissed from therapy.