Child Language & Developmental Speech (CLADS)

Choosing a speech therapist for your child can feel like an overwhelming task. Let us offer you a few important tips for finding the right Speech-Language Pathologist in Charlotte for your needs.

First, you have to narrow the field, making finding a speech therapist your first step:

1. Ask your physician for a referral. If you have a good relationship with your pediatrician or family doctor, ask them for a referral to a speech therapist they feel good about recommending.
2. Ask friends and family for personal referrals if they have used a Charlotte area speech therapist in the past. Word-of-mouth from a trusted source is the best reference you can get.
3. Ask your school, teacher, or counselor for a referral.
4. If in doubt, search the Internet. If this is the method you use to find a speech therapist, be sure to increase your level of diligence on the follow-up items below.

Secondly, while we know you trust your referral sources, it is always good to do a little checking on your own to be sure your speech therapist is qualified and has the right skillset for your needs. This step is also a lot about peace-of-mind for you, especially if your child has special needs.

1. Check that your speech therapist is licensed in your state, and give them bonus points for having a certification from ASHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.) Licenses and certifications guarantee that your speech therapist is partaking in the required continuing education for keeping up with the latest practices in Speech-Language Pathology.
2. Perform a simple internet search for both reviews and complaints about the speech therapy center or the therapist themselves.
3. Call the speech therapy center and ask as many questions as you would like. The facility should have a staff that is ready, willing, and eager to answer and put your mind at ease.

Speech-Language Pathologists have had an extensive and comprehensive education in obtaining their Master’s degree, licenses, and certifications. While it might feel necessary to find one that specializes in a specific diagnosis it is not usually necessary. At Child Language and Developmental Speech, our speech therapists have the skills and experience to assist in a wide array of speech delays, fluency disorders, language disorders, swallowing disorders and other speech and language difficulties. Our team of speech therapists are warm, caring, and have a passion for working with children.

Not only do we have an expert team with years of experience, we will do what is right for your child. With our network of Charlotte area providers, if your child comes in for a speech and hearing assessment and we discover they need a different kind of therapy or intervention that we cannot provide, we will guide you to the experts who can deliver on those needs.

If you’re looking for the right speech therapist for your child and have questions, please call us anytime, we are happy to address all of your concerns. 704-845-0561