As a speech language pathologist, your job is to help those with developmental disorders or injuries develop communication skills to improve their quality of life. A speech language pathologist will meet with the child and their parents, then evaluate and diagnose specific communication difficulties. After diagnosis, a treatment plan is created in order to maximize communication improvement.

Speech Therapy and Early Intervention

As a young child, communicating to others is hard enough, so imagine what children with developmental delays are experiencing when their delay prevents them from cultivating proper communication skills. The most important years for brain development, and thus communication skills, are birth to three. Through early intervention, communication skills are developed in order to properly communicate as the child grows.

Sunny Days provides home-based speech therapy to children in need of early intervention. As a Speech Language Pathologist at Sunny Days, you should expect to:

• Perform initial evaluations of children through communication, which can be verbal or nonverbal, and through play
• Record detailed results of communication evaluations
• Evaluate the results of your initial evaluations to determine the extent of communication difficulties
• Communicate your results and clinical findings with the child’s parents to identify areas for improvement and formulate treatment options
• Discuss treatment options with the parents and/or caregivers of each child to determine next steps
• Develop a treatment plan for each child that incorporates established communication improvement techniques
• Teach each child proper speech, reading, and writing techniques, and other communication methods.
• Coach parents on techniques, treatment reinforcement, and carryover home activities
• Provide the necessary resources for additional treatment or care
• Perform reassessment as needed