Services

What Do We Treat?

Every child communicates and learns differently. At Speech of Cake, we provide individualized speech, language, and literacy services to support children with a variety of communication and learning needs. Our clinicians work with children to strengthen their skills, build confidence, and support meaningful participation at home, in school, and in everyday life.

Explore the areas below to learn more about the disorders and difficulties we evaluate and treat.

Speech Sound Disorders

A speech sound disorder is a difficulty with pronouncing sounds correctly. Signs that your child may benefit from an evaluation of their speech sounds include: - Your child is becoming frustrated because they struggle to communicate with you or others - You understand less than 80% of what they say - Their speech errors are not age-appropriate

Language Disorders

A language disorder is a difficulty with understanding language (receptive language) and/or expressing thoughts and ideas through speech or writing (expressive language). Signs that your child may benefit from an evaluation of their receptive and/or expressive language skills include: - Your child has difficulty understanding and following directions - Your child has difficulty answering questions - Your child has obvious grammatical errors or only uses very short sentences - Your child seems to have difficulty expressing their feelings, wants/needs, or asking questions - Your child seems to have a limited vocabulary

Reading and Writing Disorders

Reading and writing disorders occur when a child has difficulty reading words, understanding what they read, and/or spelling and writing words. Dyslexia is one type of reading disorder. Signs that your child may benefit from an evaluation of reading and writing skills include: - Your child is reading well below the expected level for their age - Your child has difficulty sounding out the pronunciation of an unfamiliar word - Your child has difficulty spelling - Your child spends an unusually long time completing tasks that involve reading or writing - Your child avoids activities that involve reading - Your child has problems processing and understanding what is heard - Your child has difficulty finding the right word or forming answers to questions

Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders

Orofacial myofunctional disorders (OMDs) are abnormal movement patterns of the face and mouth that can interfere with eating, talking, and breathing. A tongue thrust is one example of an OMD. Signs that your child may benefit from an evaluation for an OMD include: - Your child always breathes through their mouth or has difficulty breathing through their nose - Your child has an overbite, underbite, and/or other dental problems - Your child's tongue pushes past their teeth, even when they are not talking or using their tongue - Your child has difficulty saying some sounds, like "s" in "sun," "sh" in "ship," or "j" in "jump" - Your child drools, especially beyond age 2

Fluency Disorders

Fluency disorders, or stuttering, include involuntary repetitions or getting “stuck” while producing a sound, word, or phrase. Some signs that your child may benefit from an evaluation of their speech fluency include: - Your child repeats the beginnings of words while speaking - Your child holds out the beginning sounds of words, as if they can’t get them out - Your child appears tense, blinks rapidly, or taps their hands/feet while speaking - Your child is afraid or embarrassed to speak in front of others

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition that can influence how a child communicates, interacts with others, understands language, and navigates social situations. Autistic children have diverse communication profiles, and some may benefit from speech-language therapy to support their individual communication needs. Areas we may address during therapy include receptive and expressive language, social communication, conversational skills, understanding and using nonliteral language, and functional communication. Therapy may also incorporate augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) when appropriate. Signs that your child may benefit from an evaluation of their speech and language skills include: - Your child has difficulty expressing their wants, needs, thoughts, or feelings. - Your child has difficulty understanding or following directions. - Your child has difficulty participating in back-and-forth conversations or maintaining a conversational topic. - Your child has difficulty understanding social language, such as implied meanings, figurative language, or nonliteral expressions. - Your child has difficulty interpreting or responding to communication in social situations. - Your child uses language in ways that differ from typical developmental expectations, including repeating words or phrases (echolalia). - Your child would benefit from additional support developing functional communication skills, including through AAC.