Babies need good hearing so they can imitate the sounds and words that are made by their carers. Middle ear problems in toddlers and preschoolers may cause some hearing loss and impact on the child’s development of speech and language skills.
Interpersonal skills are basically the skills needed to get along with others. These skills go far beyond just “social niceties” such as being polite and civil. They include the ability to greet, join in an activity, begin and continue a conversation, resolve conflict effectively, read social cues, be collaborative and work cooperatively with others.
Feeding and Swallowing
Speech Pathologists can assess the safety of a person’s swallowing. Intervention may include recommendation of strategies, modified diet and equipment to maximise safe eating and maintaining adequate nutrition and hydration.
Speech is the process of physically producing sounds with the tongue, lips, teeth, palate and jaw for communication. These sounds are stored in a system in our minds, and combined quickly and precisely to form words and sentences when speaking. A speech pathologist can assess a person’s speech sound system and provide therapy to improve communication skills.