Section Menu

Speech Therapy

Also known as: speech-language therapy, SLP.

What is Speech and Language Therapy?

Speech therapy is a specialized intervention aimed at addressing various speech disorders, as well as improving a child's ability to understand and express language. This therapy, particularly beneficial for those experiencing difficulties in speech and language, is conducted by a trained medical professional known as a speech-language pathologist.

What does a Speech Pathologist do?

Speech-language pathologists work to prevent, assess, diagnose, and treat speech, language, social communication, cognitive-communication, and swallowing disorders. 

What happens during the SLP treatment?

Speech-language therapy encompasses the following areas:

  • Articulation — Helps with errors in producing individual speech sounds, such as distortions and substitutions.
  • Fluency — Addresses difficulties in speaking smoothly. This includes:
    • Stuttering: Repeating whole words or parts of words, or pausing awkwardly between words.
    • Cluttering: Speaking quickly and merging words together, saying "uh" frequently.
  • Voice — Focuses on issues with voice quality, pitch, and loudness that are inappropriate for an individual’s age, gender, cultural background, or location.
  • Receptive/Expressive Language —
    • Receptive Language: Difficulty understanding spoken or written language.
    • Expressive Language: Difficulty sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings orally or in writing.
  • Play — Helps children develop skills in problem-solving, turn-taking, and symbolic thinking, which are essential for language development.
  • Oral-Motor — Exercises involving the lips, tongue, teeth, and jaw to identify and address oral motor weaknesses.

A formal assessment is conducted to determine the areas of deficit and goal plans are created.

Is any special preparation needed?

A prescription from a medical provider (i.e., your pediatrician or a sub-specialist) is required to initiate scheduling the evaluation.

What are the risk factors?

There are no risk factors related to speech therapy.

Reviewed by: Jamie Tarshis

This page was last updated on: 5/8/2026 7:37:19 PM

Rehabilitation Services

The best rehab choice for the children in your care. The Rehabilitation Services at Nicklaus Children's Hospital serve the therapeutic needs of infants, children and adolescents.

Learn More

Related Health Articles

Communication and Feeding Difficulties: Does My Child Have Autism Spectrum Disorder?

April 14, 2021 – Why is my child not communicating? Why are mealtimes such a battle? These are some of the questions that speech-language therapists are asked when first meeting families seeking therapy for a young child. Sometimes, it is not just a lack of “speech” or difficulties eating that are the focus of our evaluation. Sometimes we are the first to tell parents or caregivers that the child has what we call “red flags for autism.”

Related Podcasts

Talking Toddlers: Speech Development Milestones & Red Flags

Welcome back to "For Peds Sake," your go-to podcast for pediatric healthcare discussions. Today we have a very special guest with us. Dr. Keysla Lee, Speech Language Pathologist at Nicklaus Children's Hospital will be diving into communication milestones for children aged 13 to 18 months.

Check Your Symptoms
Use the symptom checker tool to check how serious your symptoms are, if a healthcare visit is needed, and what steps you can take to relieve your symptoms at home.

Learn more about

Apraxia of Speech Apraxia is a brain disorder in which children have difficulty with some muscle movements, sometimes in their face, other times in their arms and legs.
Dyslexia Dyslexia is a learning disability that’s characterized by a variety of difficulties related to reading, speech or understanding speech or the written word. Children with the disorder often have challenges related to school or learning.
Voice Disorders Voice disorders are a broad category of medical conditions congenital and acquired; acute or chronic that affect the loudness, pitch, quality or resonance of a child's voice.
Speech Disorders Any abnormality of a child’s ability to speak clearly and normally can be classified as a speech disorder.
Tracking Rehabilitative Advancement through Accountable Care (TRAAC) TRAAC (Tracking Rehabilitative Advancement through Accountable Care) is the service delivery model of care for rehabilitation at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital.
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Communication systems, strategies and tools that replace or supplement natural speech are known as augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).

Locations with Speech Therapy

Loading map…
Dan Marino (Weston)

2900 S. Commerce Parkway
Weston, FL 33331
Phone: 954-385-6200

Doral
  Urgent Care Available

3601 NW 107th Avenue
Doral, FL 33178
Phone: 786-624-3672

Miami Lakes
  Urgent Care Available

15025 NW 77 Avenue
Miami Lakes, FL 33014
Phone: 786-313-7800

Miramar
  Urgent Care Available

12246 Miramar Parkway
Miramar Square
Miramar, FL 33025
Phone: 954-442-0809

Nirvair Chowdhury (Midtown)

3915 Biscayne Boulevard
Miami, FL 33137
Phone: 786-624-6000

Palm Beach Gardens
  Urgent Care Available

11310 Legacy Avenue
Legacy Place
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
Phone: 561-624-9188

Palmetto Bay
  Urgent Care Available

17615 SW 97 Avenue
(Franjo Road)
Palmetto Bay, FL 33157
Phone: 786-268-1777

West Kendall
  Urgent Care Available

13400 SW 120th Street
Suite 100
Miami, FL 33186
Phone: 786-624-5363