Empowering Your Child’s Voice

Is Your Child Reaching Their Milestones?

Early intervention is the most powerful tool in pediatric development. Research consistently shows that addressing speech and language delays before age 5 leads to significantly better academic and social outcomes.

Signs your child may benefit from an evaluation:

• 12 Months: Not babbling or using gestures like pointing or waving.
• 18 Months: Prefers gestures over vocalizations or has fewer than 20 words.
• 24 Months: Not yet putting two words together (e.g., "More juice") or has a total vocabulary of less than 50 words.
• 3 Years+: Speech is difficult for even familiar family members to understand, or the child shows frustration when trying to communicate

Specialized Support for Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS)

Childhood Apraxia of Speech is not a problem with "knowing what to say," but rather a challenge in how the brain sends signals to the muscles used for speech. Unlike a typical speech delay, a child with CAS knows exactly what they want to communicate, but their brain struggles to plan and coordinate the precise movements of the tongue, lips, and jaw.

Signs of Childhood Apraxia of Speech:

• Inconsistent Errors: Your child may say a word correctly once but struggle to repeat it the same way twice.
• Groping Movements: You might see your child "searching" for the right mouth position before speaking.
• Vowel Distortions: Struggling with vowel sounds as much as consonants.
• Increased Difficulty with Length: Shorter words may be easy, but longer sentences become significantly harder to produce.

At Speech House Therapy, we utilize evidence-based motor learning principles to treat CAS. We focus on repetitive, intensive practice and "multi-sensory" cues—using touch, sight, and sound—to help the brain build new, reliable pathways for clear speech.

Our Comprehensive
Pediatric Services

We provide a full spectrum of speech-language pathology (SLP) services tailored to the unique neurological profiles of children.

1. Play-Based Speech & Language Therapy

Children learn best when they are engaged. We use play-based therapy to target expressive language (speaking) and receptive language (understanding). By following the child's lead, we build vocabulary and grammar in a natural, stress-free environment.

2. Articulation & Phonological Disorders

Does your child struggle with specific sounds like "R," "S," or "L"? We help children coordinate the movements of the lips, tongue, and jaw to produce clear, intelligible speech.

3. Autism-Affirming Communication Support

We provide neurodiversity-affirming care. For children on the Autism spectrum, we focus on:

• Social Communication: Navigating turn and social cues.
• AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication): Using iPads or picture boards to give non-verbal children a voice.

4. Specialized Feeding & Swallowing Therapy

If your child is a "picky eater," gags on certain textures, or has difficulty chewing, our SLPs are trained in feeding therapy. We help children safely explore new foods and build oral-motor strength.

The Speech House Difference

We aren't just a clinic; we are partners in your child's growth.

• Three Convenient Locations: Serving the Lake of the Ozarks (Osage Beach), Fort Leonard Wood (Waynesville), and Rolla.
• Individualized Treatment Plans: We create custom goals based on standardized testing and your family’s specific needs.
• Parent Empowerment: We provide you with the tools to ensure progress continues long after the session ends.

Looking for adult services? Visit our Adult Speech & Cognitive Therapy page. Internal Link: Questions about insurance? Check our Billing and FAQ section.