Speech Therapy for a Teenager
If you are the parent of a teenager, you may wonder if speech therapy is something your child needs. Many teenagers struggle with various aspects of communication, from articulation to stuttering.
Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can help teens overcome communication challenges. In this article, we will discuss the goals of speech therapy for teenagers and how you can provide speech therapy at home for your teenager!
Why Are Communication Skills Important for Teens?
What Age is Best for Speech Therapy?
What are the Possible Types of Communication Issues in Teens?
What Causes Communication Disorders in Teens?
How are Speech and Language Disorders Diagnosed?
Speech Therapy Goals for Teenagers
What are Speech Therapy Sessions Like for Teens?
Speech Therapy at Home for Your Teenager
What Are Some Resources for Parents of Teenagers Who Need Speech Therapy?
Why Are Communication Skills Important for Teens?
Good communication skills are necessary for a variety of reasons. They are essential skills for academic success. To understand lectures and participate in class discussions, students need to be able to understand and feel confident speaking aloud.
Additionally, strong receptive and expressive language abilities are necessary to build positive relationships with peers and teachers. When a child is confident in their ability to communicate clearly, they will feel more connected to others.
Finally, sound communication skills can help teens prepare for future success. Many jobs require good use of spoken language for success. Development of these skills can be a lifelong process, so your child needs to start learning the skills necessary for success in the workplace as early as possible.
By improving communication, teenagers can feel more confident and better prepared for life.
What Age is Best for Speech Therapy?
Most speech therapists will agree that the earlier a child starts therapy, the better. However, that does not mean that teenagers cannot benefit from speech therapy.
Speech therapy can help your child improve overall language, articulation, and social skills regardless of age.
What are the Possible Types of Communication Issues in Teens?
There are many different types of communication problems that can occur in teenagers. They may include:
Articulation Disorders
Articulation is the physical production of speech sounds. Articulation disorders can result in mispronunciation of words that can make speech unclear.
Fluency (Stuttering) Disorder
A fluency disorder is identified by disruptions in the flow of speech. These disruptions can include repetitions, sound prolongations, or interruptions in speech, known as blocks.
Expressive Language Disorder
An expressive language disorder is a delay or difficulty in learning to express thoughts and ideas through spoken words.
Receptive Language Disorder
Receptive language is being able to understand spoken language. Many teenagers have difficulty with receptive language due to various reasons, such as hearing loss or developmental delays.
Social (Pragmatic) Language Disorder
Social skills or pragmatic language disorder is characterized by impairment in the ability to interact with others appropriately. A teen with a social communication disorder may have trouble using language to interact with other people. Examples include difficulty with eye contact, taking turns in conversation, understanding nonverbal communication, or understanding figurative language and idioms. Many teenagers struggle with social skills for various reasons, such as autism spectrum disorder.
Vocal Hoarseness or Vocal Cord Dysfunction
Voice disorders can result in a change in pitch, volume, or quality of the voice. Vocal hoarseness is a common problem for many teenagers. This can be caused by many reasons, such as overuse of the voice, viral infections, or allergies. Paradoxical Vocal Fold Motion (PFVMD)/Vocal Cord Dysfunction (VCD) is a breathing disorder caused by the vocal folds' abnormal movement during breathing.
What Causes Communication Disorders in Teens?
The general causes of speech and language disorders are not entirely clear, but they may be associated with any of the following:
Hearing impairment
Genetic disorders such as Down's Syndrome
Premature birth or low birth weight
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Fragile X Syndrome
Brain tumor
Brain injury
How are Speech and Language Disorders Diagnosed?
If you think your child could have a speech or language disorder, the first step is to consult with a speech-language pathologist (SLP). Speech-language pathologists can perform an assessment to help diagnose the problem.
The assessment will include questionnaires and interviews with the family and the child. Informal and formal assessments will be used.
The type and degree of the disorder will determine the best course of treatment. Speech therapy is the recommended treatment for speech and language disorders. The speech therapist will work with your child individually to help them improve their communication skills.
Speech Therapy Goals for Teenagers
Speech therapy services can include a range of goals to help teens develop strong communication. Each child is unique, so your speech pathologist will tailor the goals to the child's individual needs. However, some common goals of speech therapy for teenagers include:
Improving articulation skills
Improving fluency
Increasing vocabulary
Improving expressive language skills
Improving receptive language skills
Improving social communication skills
Speech therapy can be very beneficial for teenagers with communication disorders. It can help improve their speech and language skills, as well as their social skills.
What are Speech Therapy Sessions Like for Teens?
Speech therapy sessions for teenagers vary depending on the individual and their specific needs.
Sessions are typically one-on-one and are held in the comfort of your home. Parental support is encouraged throughout the process, but parents usually take a back seat during the sessions to allow their teens to lead and take charge.
We understand that some teenagers may feel embarrassed about their speech or language disorders. Our goal is to help them overcome negative feelings and build their confidence. We do this by creating a positive and supportive environment where they can feel comfortable communicating with us.
The speech therapist will work with your teenager to set goals and create a treatment plan. The plan may include activities, exercises, and games to help your teen practice their communication skills. Speech therapy sessions are typically fun and interactive, focusing on helping your teenager improve their communication skills.
Speech therapy can be short-term or long-term, depending on the severity of the disorder.
Speech Therapy at Home for Your Teenager
There are many ways to promote strong language skills in middle or high-school-aged children. While it is always best to consult with a speech-language therapist, there are some things that you can do at home to help your teenager.
Ask your child to tell you about their day at school. Make solid eye contact with them so they know you are listening.
Ask open-ended questions rather than yes and no questions. This allows your child to expand their vocabulary and sentence length and gives you a window into their thoughts and feelings.
Talk about the news. This is an excellent way to encourage your child to share their opinions and thoughts on current events.
Read books together. This is a helpful way to expand your child’s vocabulary. You can also talk about the characters in the book and what they are feeling.
Play word games together. Games like Scrabble or Boggle can be great for language development.
Encourage good listening skills. Demonstrate good listening skills to your child. Show them how to face their communication partner, make good eye contact, and give their full attention. You can also show them to use body language and gestures such as head nodding to indicate that they are engaged in conversation with the communication partner. Encourage your teen to politely ask for clarification if something is hard to hear or comprehend.
Speech therapy can be an ideal way to help your teenager improve their speech, language, and social skills. If you think your teenager would benefit from speech therapy, consult with a speech-language pathologist to discuss the best plan for your child.
What Are Some Resources for Parents of Teenagers Who Need Speech Therapy?
If you are the parent of a teenager who needs speech therapy, many resources are available to help you. Here are a few:
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) provides information and resources on various communication disorders, including resources for parents of teenagers with speech disorders.
Talking Teenagers is a website that provides tips and resources for parents of teenagers with communication disorders.
The Stuttering Foundation also provides resources and information for parents of teenagers who stutter.
There are many speech therapy resources available for parents of teenagers. If you are the parent of a teenager with a speech disorder, explore the various available resources.
Connected Speech Pathology: Helping Teens Succeed
Finding the right speech therapist is essential if your teen is struggling with communication.
A qualified speech therapist will work with you and your teen to create goals and a treatment plan tailored to their specific needs.
At Connected Speech Pathology, we specialize in working with teenagers. Our speech-language pathologists are experienced in working with teenagers with various communication disorders, including articulation disorders, stuttering, and social communication disorders.
We understand that every teenager is unique, and we strive to create a therapy environment that is comfortable and welcoming for all of our clients.
If you are interested in speech therapy for your teenager, please contact us today to schedule a free consultation.
About the Author
Allison Geller is a speech-language pathologist (SLP) and the owner of Connected Speech Pathology. She obtained her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Florida in Speech-Language Pathology. Allison has practiced speech therapy in a number of settings including telepractice, acute care, outpatient rehabilitation, and private practice. She has worked extensively with individuals across the lifespan including toddlers, preschoolers, school-aged children, and adults. She specializes in the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of a variety of communication disorders including receptive/expressive language disorders, articulation disorders, voice disorders, fluency disorders, brain injury, and swallowing disorders.
Allison served as the clinical coordinator of research in aphasia in the Neurological Institute at Columbia University Medical Center in New York. She is on the Board of Directors for the Corporate Speech Pathology Network (CORSPAN), a Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT) certified clinician, and a proud Family Empowerment Scholarship/Step-Up For Students provider. Allison is passionate about delivering high quality-effective treatment remotely because it’s convenient and easy to access. What sets us apart from other online speech therapy options is—Allison takes great care to hire the very best SLPs from all over the country.
