Pediatric Speech Therapy
in West Bloomfield, MI
Why Pediatric Speech Therapy
Every child deserves the ability to communicate and be understood by others. But for some children, this can be more challenging than it sounds.
If you’re concerned about your child’s speech skills, Gigi’s Kids Speech & Language Therapy in West Bloomfield can help. Our expert team provides personalized speech therapy designed to make learning fun, effective, and rewarding for your child.
What Is Pediatric Speech Therapy?
Pediatric speech therapy helps children learn how to clearly produce speech sounds and improve their overall clarity and pronunciation. If your child struggles with pronouncing certain sounds, is frequently misunderstood by others, or has speech difficulties related to other medical conditions, speech therapy can help them learn to communicate more effectively.
As speech and language pathologists, it is our responsibility to assess the sounds and patterns that children are making and determine whether they are age appropriate. Some children have speech sounds and patterns that are right on track for their age, while some demonstrate a speech delay or a speech disorder. We are experts in analyzing a child’s speech, diagnosing the presence of a delay or disorder, and establishing an appropriate treatment plan.
Signs Your Child Might Need Speech Therapy
There are many different signs of a speech delay or disorder that a child could experience. Your child could benefit from an evaluation for speech therapy from our experts if they:
- Speak in a way that is significantly different from peers their age
- Frequently omit or substitute sounds in words
- Have difficulty combining sounds into words
- Stutter or repeat words and sounds frequently
- Struggle to imitate speech sounds correctly
- Have difficulty pronouncing sounds clearly or consistently
- Are often misunderstood by others
- Have limited speech or use very few spoken words
- Struggle with nursing, chewing, or swallowing
- Show frustration when trying to speak
- Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing
- Have speech challenges due to autism spectrum disorder
Our Approach to Speech Therapy
At Gigi’s Kids, our experienced therapists use a playful, child-led approach that engages your child’s interests. We structure each session to be fun and motivating to help children develop their speech skills naturally.
Family involvement is essential to your child’s progress, and we actively include parents and caregivers in therapy sessions. Plus, our therapists hold advanced certifications in specialized speech therapy methods to ensure your child gets the highest quality of care available.
Understanding Sensory Needs in Speech Therapy
At Gigi’s Kids, we recognize that every child has a unique sensory system and that those needs can shift from day to day. Our team has training and education in sensory integration and incorporates this knowledge into every session.
Being in a regulated sensory state is essential for learning. That’s why our child-led therapy approach begins with understanding how your child is feeling in the moment. We take into account their sensory preferences, sensitivities, and thresholds to create an environment that helps them feel calm, engaged, and ready to learn.
By meeting your child where they are, both emotionally and physiologically, we’re able to build trust, encourage participation, and make progress more effectively.
What Can Your Child Learn in Speech Therapy?
Through routine speech therapy sessions with our expert therapists, your child can gain:
- Clearer and more understandable speech
- Improved pronunciation of challenging sounds
- Greater confidence in social interactions
- Stronger executive functioning skills
- Better listening and comprehension skills
- Improved conversation and social skills
What Our Families Are Saying
Meet Ben
“We cannot say enough wonderful things about Amanda. In fact, she may be our son’s favorite person in the world! Not only did Amanda help Ben improve his speech GREATLY over the course of their 9 or so months together, but he was able to ‘graduate’ in under a year vs. the 3+ years we had initially anticipated. His confidence also soared as a result of his clearer speech.
Amanda has such a gift; she was able to connect with Ben in the most wonderful way possible with her warm, engaging, encouraging, and upbeat personality. His favorite part of the day was when Ms. Amanda would pull him out of his classroom for their interactive, fun and effective session (a convenience that was also invaluable as two working parents). We absolutely and without any reservation recommend Amanda!” –Ben’s family
Why Choose Gigi’s Kids?
At Gigi’s Kids, we offer a more personal experience for families. Our highly seasoned speech therapists not only provide expert care for children, but we also educate families to ensure you have the tools to help your child outside of therapy. Our small, home-like environment helps children and families feel comfortable and supported from the very first visit.
The Benefit of Early Intervention for Speech Delays
Early intervention means addressing speech delays and disorders early in your child’s development, usually between birth and age three years. This can make a significant difference in their long-term communication skills.
At this early stage, our focus is parent coaching to empower you to be your child’s best teacher. Our therapists will equip you with practical strategies so that you can:
- Identify your child’s communication stage and style of communication so that we can plan
our initial goals - Use everyday routines to naturally teach your child at his or her level
- Create fun People Play games that teach your child imitation and early requesting through play
- Keep the games and conversations going at your child’s pace so they stay engaged and remain in a teachable state
- Follow your child’s lead to ensure that they are enjoying the exchange
- Add language in simple ways to expand on what they are already able to say while modeling the next step
When children receive speech therapy in their early years, it gives them a strong foundation for their language development, reduces their communication challenges, and supports their confidence in all areas of life.
Get Started with Speech Therapy at Gigi’s Kids
Don’t wait to support your child’s speech development. Call our team at (248) 735-8080 to schedule your child’s evaluation today and take the first step toward empowering their clear, confident communication skills!