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Stuttering is a speech disorder that affects the person’s ability to speak smoothly. People who stutter know what they want to say, but have trouble saying it because their speech fluency is interrupted by: Repeating sounds in words or phrases (e.g. ‘I I I I can do it’) Prolonging sounds in a word (e.g. ‘where’s my bbbbanana’?) Blocking; which is when no sounds come out when the person is trying to speak. People who stutter may also develop non-verbal movements associated with their stutter. This can include head movements, blinking, and facial grimacing. Causes of stuttering The exact cause of…

What happens in a Speech Pathology Assessment? You’ve made the decision to have your assessed by one of  Speech Pathologists at OneOnOne Children’s Therapy. For some parents it is a relief to start the process, some parents feel quite anxious about the results of the assessment, and some parents feel overwhelmed with the journey they may be starting. It is normal to feel some or all of these emotions. This is what happens in the assessment at our Bondi Junction and Mascot clinics. Parent Discussion Our Speech Pathologists will be asking questions about your child’s development. This helps us understand…

Developmental Language Disorder means that children are slower to develop language. Their language does not develop in the same way as their peers. Our Speech Pathology team explain to parents that these children have challenges: understanding what other people say talking and communicating to other people understanding written language Using written language at school How does it impact children? These communication difficulties can cause challenges that impact the child’s ability to: make friends learn at school understand and complete written work It has a significant impact on the child’s social and emotional well-being. Developmental Language Disorder usually affects 2 children…

What is Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS)? Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is a ‘neurological motor speech disorder’. Children with CAS have problems saying sounds, syllables, and words. This is not because of muscle weakness or paralysis. The brain has problems planning to move the body parts (e.g., lips, jaw, tongue) needed for speech. The child knows what he or she wants to say, but his/her brain has difficulty coordinating the muscle movements necessary to say those words’ (source) In other words, the child knows what they want to say. However, their brain has trouble making the muscles movements in…

Parents often ring our Bondi Junction clinic to seek a Speech Pathology assessment for a lisp. A lisp usually occurs when children have difficulty producing the ‘s’ and ‘z’ sounds, and sometimes the ‘sh’, ‘ch’ and ‘zh’ sounds. These sounds are tricky, and require more complex oral movements. If you are concerned that your child may have a lisp, then here are a few things that you should know. There is more than one type of lisp: Interdental lisp: This occurs when a child is saying the ‘s’ and ‘z’ sounds with their tongue coming forward between their teeth. This…