Myths and Misconceptions About Speech Pathology
- Posted by spectrum
- On February 2, 2024
- 0
There are probably a lot of things you have heard about speech therapy and some of these may be true, but others are for sure myths and misconceptions! Here are some common myths we are going to spend some time debunking now.
Myth #1: Children who learn multiple languages are more likely to develop speech and language disorders: This is a myth. Evidence suggests that children of parents who don’t speak English as their first language learn better when spoken to in multiple languages. In general, you should speak to your child in the language that you are most confident in so your child learns the correct grammar. Multiple languages only benefit your child in the long run!
Myth #2: “The sessions are enough therapy on their own”. Some parents think that because their child accesses speech therapy that this will be enough to improve their speech, language or social communication concerns alone. In reality this is not the case, a lot of time and effort is required to see improvements, so it is better if the homework or strategies your speech pathologist gives you is completed. Naturally your child spends the most time with your family and at home, not attending therapy so it is ideal to implement the strategies throughout your week with your child to see the most benefit from sessions.
Myth #3: Speech therapists just play with kids- they don’t really do anything. We all know how much children love to play! Yes, it’s true, speech pathologists spend a lot of time “playing” with your child. What looks like “just play” is really using play as a fun and motivating way to support your child’s language without them realising. For example, by giving them new words in play supports their growing vocabulary. Play is also a great way to support your child’s sentences and grammaticality because we can model correct usage of pronouns, expand their sentence length by showing them how we use language within play.
These are only a few myths and misconceptions about speech therapy and there are so many more out there. If you have any questions about myths about speech therapy get in contact with your Speech Pathologist or call us to book in an appointment with one of our amazing Speech Pathologists/myth busters!