Do you feel your child has reached all of the developmental milestones for communication?
Do you have concerns about his or her speech and ability to verbally express his or her needs?

WHAT IS A SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST?

• Has specialized training to focus on an individual's ability to communicate functional needs
• Uses a variety of means, such as:
  - verbal expression
  - cognitive skills
  - Speech Generating Devices (SGD)
  - augmentative books/materials
  - signs/gestures
  

WHAT CAN WE DO FOR YOU?
Is your child talking and interacting like other children his/her age? Without difficulty, can you understand what he/she wants or is trying to tell you?
If you answered NO to either of these questions, your child may need to be seen by a speech-language pathologist for further assessment. The evaluation would determine if there is a problem and provide further recommendations and resources for required services.

COMMUNICATION AND SPEECH DISORDERS
Communication problems can affect children's speech, language and voice. Some reasons children are seen in speech therapy are:

• articulation problems
• language delays
• developmental disabilities
• stuttering
• voice problems
• cleft palate
• traumatic brain injury
• cerebral palsy
• hearing impairment
• autism
• jaw rehabilitation - a program with oral motor treatment designed to develop behaviors of the jaw needed for development of biting and chewing skills. May be used with patients who are in need of developing these skills secondary to oral motor delay, surgical procedure, trauma, stroke or other craniofacial conditions which have impacted the development of feeding skills.

DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES
Listed are some milestones your child should be reaching within these approximate ages. Every child is unique, and infants and children develop at different rates; your child may normally develop faster or slower.

Rice's speech and language pathologists are educated and trained to work with children of all ages. If you are interested in knowing more about developmental milestones beyond age 5 years, please contact Rice Rehab Center for further information.

Birth to 1 month - sucks; swallows; smiles and coos when happy and comfortable; cries when unhappy and uncomfortable; reacts to movement.
1 -2 months - makes little deep throat noises frequently; calms down, especially when a male is talking; stops and listens to noises, such as bells or ringing.
3 months - follows movement by turning head; looks at you and watches your face; smiles; coos or gurgles; startles to loud noises.
6 months - cries when hungry or uncomfortable; tries putting everything into mouth; turns head toward sounds; babbles or squeals; laughs out loud.
9 months - responds to own name; knows care-givers from strangers; imitates sounds, says "mama" or "dada".
12 months - plays "peek-a-boo"; waves bye-bye; shows affection; says a few words besides "mama" and "dada"; loves to hear own voice; feeds self with fingers.
18 months - loves to talk a lot but frequently is hard to understand; imitates sounds and rhythms, such as "patty cake"; likes to help; lets you know what he/she wants; points to things when named.
2 years - listens to short stories; turns pages of a book; copies another child's play; has about 15 - 50 words in working vocabulary; responds to action directions; uses two word sentences (usually).
3 years - has a well-developed vocabulary; demonstrates correct usage of plurals and past tense; talks and usually understood; uses three word sentences; tells you who is a boy/girl; names six body parts.
4 years - asks yes/no and "wh" questions; plays make-believe; takes turns; draws a face; names some colors; combines two simple sentences, such as "Jenny and Linda are happy".
5 years - plays organized games; talks very well; enjoys taking turns in play; follows a 3-step direction; draws a person with 6 - 8 body parts; counts to 10; understands the meaning of many words.

Clients must be under the care of a physician and the client's physician must order and approve the provision of any rehabilitation therapy service.

For more information on Vestibular Rehabilitation at Rice Rehab:
lsti@rice.willmar.mn.us or (320) 231-4175