What age is BEST for speech therapy?
I’ve noticed this question pop up in conversation, on Google’s frequent searches, with family and in consultations. It’s one of those questions that, as a speech language pathologist, I find challenging to answer because the answer is not likely what the person is looking for. Most people want to know if their child, parent, spouse or family member is a candidate to receive speech therapy support. However, most often those searching for the ideal age are parents with concerns related to their child’s developmental speech and language. I’ll answer that question. But first, let me answer the overarching question of speech therapy and age.
The short answer is ANY AGE! Speech language pathologists (SLP) can work with infants as young as newborns in the NICU who require specific feeding and swallowing needs as a result of premature birth. Similarly, depending on the needs of the infant, SLP’s may continue services throughout the first year. Toddlers who demonstrate a lack of pre-linguistic skills (i.e., joint attention, imitation, babbling, etc.) would also benefit from early intervention to support language development and reduce the likelihood of greater deficits in the future.
As an SLP who has worked in public and private school settings, school aged children have access to campus based speech services through the special education department. However, many times, the need must be impacting academic performance in order to qualify for services. Additionally, in most public schools, standardized evaluation scores must be lower and therefore reflect a greater need to be eligible for speech therapy. This is a source of frustration to many parents. Private therapy services can be sought out to supplement school based therapies. Most commonly, parents will seek out private therapy services if their child did not qualify for services based on school district eligibility guidelines.
Now, what in the world would a 20-something, 30-something or 40-something year old want with speech therapy? Excellent question! During this season in life, adults are relatively healthy. However, in unexpected situations that result in trauma to the brain, adults may find themselves having a hard time finding words, comprehending simple daily tasks, eating foods they used to enjoy or engaging in meaningful conversations. This is where speech therapy comes into play with adults. Another area that is relevant is voice. We tend to use and abuse our voice sometimes to the point of prolonged loss of voice. You may even find the sound and texture of your voice has changed or that your voice gradually diminishes throughout the day. When this occurs, speech therapy works to rehabilitate structures and functions needed for healthy voice use. Additionally, patient education of healthy voice use is typically at the forefront of therapy to ensure repeated injury does not occur.
Later in life, as our brain becomes less sharp or a new diagnoses take a toll on our bodies, speech therapy is an important tool to support overall quality of life. Providing patients and caregivers with strategies to deal with dementia, cognitive decline, reduced breath support and difficulty eating are just a few ways that SLP’s can provide therapeutic assistance.
All this to say, the “best age” does not exist. But, every age and every season can benefit from speech therapy depending on the need.
