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It depends on your child’s diagnosis and severity
As the saying goes “how long is a piece of string?” the answer is - it depends! Every child is different and their abilities vary. That’s why we need to know whether the diagnosis is in speech, language or both. Moreover, sometimes you’d be able to identify whether it’s a delay or a disorder. This needs to be determined by a qualified speech therapist.
In general, a delay implies that a child would catch up, whereas a disorder means that the development is out of order. However, the degree of severity will affect how long a child would need to be treated. Let’s say that your child has a speech disorder where he cannot articulate a few sounds only. For simplicity’s sake, maybe the /L/and /s/ sound, then you can expect that it wouldn’t take long for a speech therapist to correct that.
It may be a long fight
Answering how long a child needs to be in therapy is a tough question. Expecting that it would be a long fight is the correct mentality going in. There are many cases that children catch up really quickly and do not require therapy for long. When we say this, it isn’t because we want your money. In fact, the quality of therapy is measured by how many children improve. The more children get results and leave therapy, the easier it is for parents to trust us. So expect that this will take quite some time. Work with your child and realize there are no shortcuts.
Early intervention and homework is essential
We’ve heard it many times, maybe by therapy clinics to get you to sign up for their package. Early intervention is crucial. Because learning is easier when you start earlier. Children can get into the groove of therapy and accept that they will have to sit down to work on speech and language daily. We have students even in adulthood who still require speech therapy. Although their language skills are age-appropriate, there are social skills to be fine-tuned. It’s a lifelong journey.