The Importance of Early Intervention
Communication skills are critical for a normal, productive life. Left untreated, a communication disorder can have a life-long effect on social development, interpersonal relationships, the ability to learn, and on ultimate independence. Swallowing disorders can affect nutrition, health, and even relationships that develop within the context of social eating.
Young children develop the majority of their speech and language skills in the first three years of life. During this time, this learning influences how the brain develops. Early intervention is critically important because infants, toddlers, and preschoolers have developing brains that are designed to learn communication and swallowing skills. If there is a problem with that development, therapy should be started as soon as possible to take advantage of this period of normal brain development.
Early intervention for a communication or swallowing disorder will greatly improve the child’s ultimate outcome. Of course, speech-language pathologists are able to determine what problems the child will “grow out of” and what problems will require treatment.
Why choose us for speech pathology services?
In the Division of Speech Pathology at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, our vision is to be the best pediatric speech pathology program in the world. To do that, we need to provide exceptional service to our patients and their families, as follows:
- We have a staff of experts, not just generalists. Each child is seen by a specialist in the child’s disorder and age.
- We use the latest procedures and evidence-based practice techniques as determined by our specialty teams.
- We draw the best qualified clinicians from all around the country.
- We have the most current equipment and technology.
- We allow parents to observe sessions through our closed circuit system. Sessions can easily be recorded for viewing at home.
- We are dedicated to providing high quality services in everything we do, from the initial scheduling to the time that the child no longer needs our services.
Contact Us
For more information about the Division of Speech Pathology at Cincinnati Children's, contact 513-636-4341 or speech@cchmc.org.
