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Pediatric Speech & Language Therapy

Every Child Deserves to Communicate

Every child deserves to express their thoughts, needs, and ideas. Pediatric speech and language therapy helps children develop clearer speech, stronger language skills, and greater confidence in everyday communication.

At Appel Speech Therapy Solutions, therapy is personalized to your child's specific strengths, challenges, and goals. Sessions are designed to be engaging, supportive, and practical, with skills that carry over into home, school, and social settings

What You May Notice

Common Concerns We Treat

Other Common Concerns We Treat

Your child may benefit from a speech and language evaluation if you notice:

  • Difficulty being understood by family members, teachers, or peers

  • Frequently leaving out, replacing, or distorting speech sounds

  • Frustration when trying to communicate

  • Difficulty following directions or answering questions

  • Limited vocabulary or difficulty putting sentences together

  • Trouble explaining ideas, retelling stories, or participating in conversations

  • Repeating sounds, words, or phrases when speaking

  • Avoiding certain words or speaking situations

  • Speech that sounds less developed than that of other children the same age

  • Difficulty interacting or communicating appropriately with peers

 

Some speech and language differences are part of typical development. An evaluation can help determine whether your child would benefit from therapy.

Articulation & Speech Sound Disorders

 

Articulation refers to how a child produces individual speech sounds. A child with an articulation or speech sound disorder may substitute one sound for another, leave sounds out, or produce certain sounds unclearly.

For example, a child may say "wabbit" instead of "rabbit," "tat" instead of "cat," or have difficulty producing sounds such as R, S, L, SH, CH, or TH.

Therapy focuses on teaching the correct placement and movement of the lips, tongue, and jaw. Children then practice using the sound in words, sentences, conversation, and everyday communication.​

Childhood Apraxia of Speech

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Childhood apraxia of speech is a motor speech disorder that affects a child's ability to plan and coordinate the movements needed for speech.

A child may know exactly what they want to say but have difficulty getting their lips, tongue, and jaw to move in the correct sequence. Speech errors may be inconsistent, and longer words are often more difficult than shorter ones.

Therapy typically includes frequent, structured practice of speech movements, sounds, syllables, and words. Treatment is individualized and may incorporate visual, verbal, and tactile cues to help the child produce speech more accurately and consistently.

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Phonological Disorders

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A phonological disorder occurs when a child demonstrates consistent patterns of speech sound errors. Instead of struggling with only one sound, the child may simplify groups of sounds.

Examples include:

  • Saying "tat" instead of "cat"

  • Saying "doe" instead of "go"

  • Leaving off final sounds, such as saying "ca" instead of "cat"

  • Simplifying sound combinations, such as saying "poon" instead of "spoon"

These patterns can make a child's speech difficult to understand. Therapy helps the child recognize differences between sounds and replace incorrect speech patterns with correct ones.

Fluency & Stuttering

 

Fluency refers to the smoothness and flow of speech. Children who stutter may repeat sounds, syllables, words, or phrases. They may also stretch sounds or experience moments when speech feels blocked.

Some children may demonstrate physical tension, blinking, facial movements, or avoidance of certain words and speaking situations.

Fluency therapy is supportive and individualized. Treatment may focus on reducing physical tension, developing easier speaking patterns, building communication confidence, and helping the child and family better understand stuttering.

The goal is not simply to eliminate every disfluency. The goal is to help the child communicate comfortably, confidently, and effectively.

Receptive & Expressive Language Delays

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Language skills allow children to understand others and express their own thoughts and ideas.

Receptive language refers to a child's ability to understand spoken language. A child may have difficulty following directions, understanding questions, learning new vocabulary, or comprehending stories.

Expressive language refers to a child's ability to communicate using words and sentences. A child may use fewer words than expected, speak in short sentences, have difficulty finding words, or struggle to explain events and ideas.

Therapy may focus on:

  • Building vocabulary

  • Increasing sentence length

  • Following directions

  • Answering and asking questions

  • Understanding concepts

  • Retelling stories

  • Organizing and expressing ideas

  • Improving grammar

What to Expect

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The process typically begins with a consultation or comprehensive evaluation. The evaluation helps identify your child's strengths, areas of difficulty, and whether therapy is recommended.

When therapy is appropriate, an individualized treatment plan is developed based on your child's needs. Parents are provided with guidance and practical strategies to help support progress outside of therapy sessions.

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Help Your Child Communicate with Confidence

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Early support can make communication easier and reduce frustration for both children and families.

Contact Appel Speech Therapy Solutions to discuss your concerns or schedule a pediatric speech and language evaluation.

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