| In order to reach some conclusion as to the | | | | the production of speech. |
| nature, extent, and cause of the child's speech | | | | He will try to determine whether your child's |
| problem, the speech therapist will need to know a | | | | hearing is impaired in such a way as to interfere |
| great deal about the child and the home in which | | | | with the learning of speaking. If there is a |
| he lives. | | | | problem, he will try to determine just what it is, |
| There will be questions about the mother's health | | | | what caused it, and what needs to be done. |
| during pregnancy, the child's health at birth, his | | | | He may tell you to continue exactly as you have |
| early development, accidents and diseases. | | | | been doing and to come back in six months if the |
| Perhaps none of the questions asked will reveal | | | | child has not begun to speak. He may offer |
| information that explains the difficulty. But we | | | | suggestions for helping your child learn to speak. |
| can't afford to overlook anything when we are | | | | Or he may discover something you have not |
| dealing with so important a matter as your child's | | | | been aware of that should have medical or |
| ability to communicate. | | | | surgical treatment. |
| The speech therapist will use a number of | | | | In that case, he will refer you to your family |
| techniques to determine what sounds your child | | | | physician or pediatrician. At any rate, you would |
| uses and what sounds he is able to produce. He | | | | have the opinion of an expert in the field of |
| will examine the "speech mechanism" to | | | | speech, and if you followed his suggestions you |
| determine if any speech problem is present and | | | | would have the satisfaction of knowing that you |
| whether the nerves and muscles of the lips, | | | | were doing all you could to help your child with his |
| tongue, and palate are functioning adequately for | | | | speech problems. |