What is Speech and Language Therapy?

Speech-language therapy for the pediatric population helps children develop communication, language, and feeding skills. It supports those with speech delays, language disorders, social communication challenges, or difficulties with swallowing. Therapy is tailored to each child's needs and often uses play-based methods to build skills essential for learning and interacting with others.

Who Can Benefit from Speech Therapy?

Children with various communication or feeding challenges can benefit from speech-language therapy.

• Speech Delay: Late development of clear, age-appropriate sounds.
• Articulation Disorder: Difficulty producing specific speech sounds correctly.
• Language Delay/Disorder: Trouble understanding or using words and sentences.
• Fluency Disorder: Disruptions in the flow of speech, such as stuttering.
• Voice Disorder: Problems with pitch, volume, or quality of the voice.
• Social Communication Disorder: Difficulty using language appropriately in social settings.
• Feeding/Swallowing Issues: Problems with chewing, swallowing, or oral coordination.
• Autism Spectrum Disorder: May impact both verbal and nonverbal communication.
• Hearing Loss: Affects the development of speech and language skills.

Early intervention can significantly improve outcomes in these areas.

Our Paediatric Speech Therapy Approaches

• Play-Based Therapy
• Articulation & Phonology Therapy
• Language Intervention
• Fluency Therapy
• Social Communication (Pragmatics)
• AAC (Augmentative & Alternative Communication)
• Feeding & Swallowing Therapy
• Parent Coaching & Home Programs

Core Focus Areas of Our Program

• Speech Development
• Language Skills
• Listening and Understanding
• Social Communication Skills
• Fluency (Smooth Speech)
• Alternative Communication Systems
• Behavioral and Emotional Support

Benefits of Speech Therapy at Alnajma Center

• Personalized Care
• Skilled Professionals
• Early Language Support
• Improved Speech Clarity
• Enhanced Social Skills
• Boosted Confidence
• Family Involvement
• Support for Special Needs
• Holistic Approach

SERVICES PROVIDING: EARLY INTERVENTION

In Al Najma Center, we offer Early Intervention services from birth to 3 years-old to improve delayed speech and language skills.

• Speech & Language Skills
• Social-Emotional Skills
• Physical Development
• Cognitive Skills
• Adaptive Skills

Specific signs that a child has a language delay:

• Delayed vocabulary
• Trouble understanding what others say
• Decreased social interaction
• Speech is hard to understand
• Stuttering

DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY IN SPEECH

Developmental delay refers to when a child is not reaching expected milestones in speech, language, and communication. Therapy is tailored to reduce the delay and enhance communication skills.

SPEECH AND LANGUAGE DISORDERS WE TREAT

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
• Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Down Syndrome
• Cerebral Palsy
• Cleft Lip and/or Palate
• Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS)
• Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)
• Expressive Language Delay
• Receptive Language Delay
• Speech Sound Disorders
• Stuttering (Fluency Disorder)
• Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)
• Intellectual Disability
• Hearing Impairment/Deafness
• Voice Disorders
• Feeding and Swallowing Disorders (Dysphagia)
• Learning Disabilities
• Social Communication Disorder

OPT in Speech Therapy

At Our Al Najma Center we provide Oral Placement Therapy which utilizes a combination of:

• Auditory stimulation
• Visual stimulation
• Tactile stimulation to the mouth

to improve speech clarity.

OPT is an important addition to traditional speech treatment methods for clients with placement and movement deficits. It is a tactile-proprioceptive teaching technique which accompanies traditional therapy.

Traditional therapy is primarily auditory and visual. Clients with motor and/or sensory impairments benefit from tactile and proprioceptive components because speech is a tactile-proprioceptive act.

OPT is used to improve articulator awareness, placement (dissociation, grading, and direction of movement), stability, and muscle memory; all of these are necessary for the development of speech clarity.

BLOGS

Oral Placement Therapy is a specialized form of speech therapy that targets individuals with speech clarity difficulties through a unique combination of auditory, visual, and tactile stimulation to the mouth.

OPT goes beyond traditional therapy methods by addressing placement and movement deficits, making it an essential tool for individuals with motor and sensory impairments.

This therapy helps improve articulation, stability, and muscle memory, critical components in developing speech clarity.

What is Oral Placement Therapy?

Oral Placement Therapy (OPT) is an approach within speech therapy designed to address speech clarity difficulties in individuals with placement and movement deficits.

What sets OPT apart is its focus on tactile, auditory, and visual stimuli that help improve oral motor skills.

The Importance of OPT in Speech Therapy

OPT offers a unique benefit by providing a tactile-proprioceptive element of speech therapy, something not typically found in traditional methods that rely mainly on auditory and visual feedback.

Incorporating tactile feedback enables clients to build greater awareness of their speech mechanisms, improve stability in their articulators, and develop necessary muscle memory for clearer speech.

Understanding Tactile-Proprioceptive Speech Therapy

Speech is a complex motor act that relies on the accurate movement of the oral structures, including the lips, tongue, and jaw.

OPT addresses this gap by adding tactile stimulation that enhances proprioceptive feedback. It’s a hands-on approach where therapists might use tools to stimulate the oral structures.

The Key Components of OPT

• Auditory Stimulation: Hearing the correct sounds being produced.
• Visual Stimulation: Watching the correct oral movements.
• Tactile Stimulation: Feeling the correct movements inside the mouth.

Articulator Awareness and Muscle Memory

A key aspect of OPT is helping clients build articulator awareness—recognizing where and how their oral structures should move to produce clear speech sounds.

OPT vs. Traditional Speech Therapy

Traditional speech therapy typically relies on auditory and visual cues. OPT complements traditional methods by focusing on oral placement through tactile cues.

Which Clients Can Benefit from Oral Placement?

• Apraxia
• Feeding difficulties
• Down Syndrome
• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Cerebral Palsy

Common Speech Disorders Treated with OPT

• Dysarthria: A motor speech disorder where muscles used for speaking are weak or difficult to control.
• Apraxia of Speech: A motor planning disorder.
• Voice Disorders: Issues with pitch, volume, or quality of the voice.
• Fluency Disorders: Such as stuttering

How OPT Assists Clients with Sensory Processing Issues

For clients with sensory processing issues, including those on the autism spectrum, OPT provides essential tactile feedback that helps improve speech clarity.

Age Range

OPT is not limited to children. Adults can also benefit, especially those recovering from strokes or other neurological events.

How Does it Work?

OPT teaches clients how to properly position their oral structures to produce speech sounds they may have difficulty imitating through auditory or visual means alone.

Assessing Motor and Feeding Skills for Placement

In our Al Najma Center, before beginning OPT, we assess the client’s motor and feeding skills to identify deficits in oral structure movement.

Practical Activities

• Blowing exercises: To build oral air control.
• Bite blocks: Used to stabilize the jaw.
• Straw drinking tasks: To improve lip and tongue strength.

Integrating OPT into a Comprehensive Therapy Program

OPT should be integrated into a broader speech and language therapy plan that addresses all aspects of communication challenges.

Collaboration with Other Therapies

At our Al Najma Center, many clients benefit from combining OPT with other forms of therapy, such as speech sound disorder therapy or sensory integration techniques.