Pediatric Speech Therapy at South Central Regional Medical Center Provides Hope for Children with Communication Issues

The greatest independence that one is given is the ability to communicate, yet for many children this is not possible. Anything that impairs a child’s ability to communicate, limits their life. Communication disorders come in many forms like stuttering, difficulty pronouncing words, delayed speech or language, difficulty comprehending words, difficulty expressing thoughts or extreme hoarseness. These problems can affect anyone and isolate us from other people.

Janna Tyler, MS, CCC-SLP, works with pediatric patient.

With help from South Central Regional Medical Center’s Speech Therapy program, patients are provided a wide array of services to help treat their speech therapy needs. Janna Tyler, MS, CCC-SLP, Speech-Language Pathologist at SCRMC explains various types of disorders and techniques used for treatment at the South Central Wellness and Rehabilitation Center in Laurel.

“Speech therapy includes the treatment of speech and language disorders. There are various speech impediments that our certified speech language pathologists treat in the Speech Therapy program at the South Central Wellness and Rehabilitation Center,” states Tyler. “We often see children when their parent notices speech delays, the child does not have enough words or when they do not understand what is being said to them. Sometimes there are articulation errors, or eating and swallowing disorders.”

If you think a speech issue may be present, it is important to discuss these concerns with your pediatrician. A referral can be setup with a pediatric speech therapist at South Central Regional Medical Center. A comprehensive speech/language evaluation determines if there is a speech/language disorder affecting everyday function at home, school or socially. The type of speech evaluation used can vary depending on the situation.

“Our goal is to help a child independently communicate what they want and need,” said Tyler. “Once therapy is determined it is medically necessary, we create an individualized treatment plan with the parents. We utilize floor play, indirect language stimulation and other treatment methods to help the child.”

The certified speech language pathologists at South Central Regional Medical Center all share the same objective, to exceed patient expectations. “When a child is able to tell a parent what they want or how they feel about something, it alleviates burdens on parents, expectations on parents, and guilt that parents feel,” said Tyler.

If you know of someone who is experiencing communication problems, help is available. A physician referral is required. Pediatric Speech Therapy is offered at South Central’s Wellness and Rehabilitation Center at 23 Mason Street in Laurel. For more information about the program, please call 601-399-0539 or visit scrmc.com.