Frequently Asked Questions by Parents
WHAT IS SPEECH WORLD? We are a speech and occupational therapy center aimed exclusively at children and teenagers. We believe that with love and respect for children, but also a lot of play, we can help them unlock their potential. With our rich therapeutic and educational material and our fully harmonized interdisciplinary & therapeutic team, we ensure the best possible outcome for children. Our innovative and specially designed space offers a warm, friendly and pleasant atmosphere for both the adults and children who visit us, as well as for the specialized therapists. Our Center has modern, fully up-to-date and rich therapeutic and educational material which is constantly updated and expanded. All treatment areas are also equipped with tablets and laptops.
WHAT IS THE DURATION AND FREQUENCY OF THE SESSIONS? The sessions are mainly individual but can also be done in small groups, depending on the therapeutic goal, lasting 45 minutes. Frequency of sessions: usually 1 – 2 times a week.
HOW MANY TREATMENTS WILL BE NEEDED? Every child is unique! We use state-of-the-art tools and techniques to create the right program for your child's needs. Your therapist will guide you and explain exactly the plan he has formulated.
WHEN DOES A CHILD NEED SPEECH THERAPY? It is good to seek the opinion of a specialist when the child: 1) He seems not interested in communication, does not react to sounds or his mother's voice. 2) Makes stereotyped repetitive movements, has special interests in objects, avoids looking you in the eye while you talk to him 3) He doesn't seem to understand what you're telling him, he has trouble following simple commands 4) He has a poor vocabulary compared to other children his age 5) He is over 4 years old and does not speak clearly. Third parties in your environment may often not understand him 6) Sticks at the beginning of a sentence, repeats the first syllable or syllable within a word, looks stressed 7) Has difficulty managing food, seems to have difficulty chewing, swallowing, is quite picky about food 8) Echoes, in the context of a conversation, answers other than what you ask 9) He cannot tell a simple story easily, he has difficulty expressing his thoughts 10) Difficulty in writing and reading 11) He cannot articulate certain letters correctly 12) He doesn't seem to understand what you are saying or asking him 13) While his speech seemed to be developing smoothly, it suddenly stopped developing 14) Is over three years old and makes several mistakes regarding speech structure (syntax) or endings (grammar)
WHAT IS A SPEECH THERAPY ASSESSMENT? The speech therapy evaluation is done to understand the points in the child's communication that need improvement. The evaluation is done by a specialized speech therapist. The speech therapist collects information about the child through questions and activities with him. Depending on the age and attention span of the child, the assessment can be completed in one session, or it can be divided into several sessions. During the evaluation, your contribution is also valuable, since you will be asked to answer questions about the child's daily life: Health history Development History Family Speech and speech behaviors School history
WHAT EXAMINATIONS ARE DONE IN THE SPEECH THERAPY ASSESSMENT? Understanding and using different words Correct use of words in correctly formed sentences Using language for different purposes Pronunciation of speech sounds Voice quality Fluency or the smooth flow of speech
WHAT ACTIVITIES ARE TAKEN IN THE LITERATURE ASSESSMENT? 1) Vocabulary comprehension: The child is asked to show pictures or objects that are spoken to him. 2) Expressive vocabulary: The child is asked to name objects and/or pictures. At older age levels, the child may be asked to explain what a word means, or to complete a sentence such as “Fire is hot, ice is ___.” 3) Understanding grammar: The child may be asked to find the picture that matches a sentence spoken by the speech pathologist. Or, it can be asked to perform a request using some objects, such as “Put the car in the box. Now, put two cars in the box. 4) Expressive grammar? The child may be asked to complete a sentence with a specific form, such as the plural. "Mary has a dress and Gianna has a dress. Both together, they have two ___. " 5) Auditory memory: The child can be asked to follow a series of instructions that gradually increase in length, such as “Put the ball on your feet and open the book” or “show me the dog, the book, the ball and the spoon." The child may be asked to repeat a series of unrelated words or a series of numbers. 6) Acoustic discrimination: The child can be asked to say if two words sound "the same" or if they sound "different". For example, do "mark" and "victim" sound the same or different? 7) Word Finding: The child can be asked to quickly name a series of common objects or a series of pictures of common objects. The child may be asked to list as many words as possible in a given time. 8) Articulation: The pronunciation of vowels and consonants is recorded. Usually, the child is asked to name a picture. The names of the pictures contain each of the sounds of the Greek language at the beginning, middle and end of the word. The speech therapist notices any incorrect pronunciation. Sometimes, an image from a story is used. This shows the speech therapist if the child makes more mistakes when saying sentences than when just saying words. The child is also asked to imitate some incorrect sounds. This indicates whether the child can imitate the sound by itself (in “isolation”), as opposed to within a syllable, word, or sentence.
WHAT OTHER MEASUREMENTS ARE MADE IN THE SPEECH THERAPY ASSESSMENT? 1) Oral-facial examination: This includes observing the child's face, lips, teeth, tongue, palate, soft/hard palate, and larynx. It also includes observing how well activities such as feeding, tongue movement, lip movement, or alternating rapid movements of the lips and tongue work. The speech therapist may ask questions about the child's feeding skills. The mouth muscles are initially developed during feeding activities before they are used for speech. 2) Voice: The speech therapist will look at how long the child can hold a tone in one breath, the child's pitch range (how low and how high the child can sing), and the pitch the child usually uses to speak. 3) Fluency: As the child speaks, the speech therapist listens for sounds and words that may be repeated or prolonged, or there may be stuttering. The speech therapist may ask you to describe how the child speaks and whether or not he avoids speaking.
WHEN DOES A CHILD NEED OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY? It is good to seek the opinion of a specialist when the child: 1) It is weak, without endurance and clumsy in its movement. 2) Avoids playground play or sports games. 3) Difficulty in painting, crafts and construction. 4) He easily falls down, "crashes" into others or knocks into furniture easily, because he has difficulty assessing the position of his body in space 5) Uses scissors with difficulty, at kindergarten age. 6) Its handwriting is illegible or reflects numbers and letters. 7) He doesn't seem to understand concepts of space and time (days-seasons, before and after, yesterday and tomorrow, etc.). 8) Makes an effort to remember facts. 9) He has a delay in the development of his speech and speech, his speech is difficult to understand and without proper articulation 10) In his daily life, he needs help in dressing, eating, taking care of himself, even though his age allows him to be independent. 11) Avoids playing with educational toys of his age. 12) Appears not to understand instructions or has difficulty following them. 13) Gets tired easily and does not complete activities, schoolwork, etc 14) Is in constant motion or acts impulsively. 15) Avoids eye contact, even with familiar faces. 16) It seems distant, it doesn't listen when you call it. 17) He seems hypersensitive to noises, touches and strong movements. 18) He systematically has difficulty sleeping, eating, using the toilet, bathing, cutting hair and nail care, etc. 19) Has difficulty following group rules and socializing with peers.
WHICH CHILDREN NEED SPECIAL STUDY? Special education refers to the learning support of children or adolescents with 1) Adjustment difficulties 2) Behavioral difficulties 3) Special Apprenticeships 4) Difficulties (Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dysspelling, Dysgraphia) Speech disorders Sensory deficits (vision & hearing problem) 5) Disorders of Concentration and Attention (e.g. ADHD) 6) Developmental Disorders (eg Autism) 7) Hearing problems 8) Autism