Celebrate Better Hearing & Speech Month!

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) work with children and adults of all ages who have speech, language, cognitive and swallowing disorders. They also help individuals modify their voice or communication style. 

Inpatient pediatric SLPs at Mott work across various units, including general care, ICU, NICU, cardiology, radiology and rehabilitation. Outpatient pediatric SLPs also work at Mott, as well as across the ambulatory care clinics of Michigan Medicine.  

Both inpatient and outpatient pediatric SLPs provide individualized assessment, education and treatment for infants, toddlers, school-age children, adolescents and young adults up to age 22.  Services are often provided individually. But group offerings for specialty concerns (such as autism, social skills development and stuttering) are also available through the outpatient pediatric speech-language pathology department to allow individuals to practice concepts and skills learned in individual therapy and to receive peer support.

Pediatric SLPs assist patients who may have speech, language, cognition or feeding/swallowing concerns due to the following:

Pediatric SLPs provide individualized assessment, treatment and education for patients with concerns in the following areas:

Many of the referrals to inpatient pediatric speech-language pathology are generated through interdisciplinary rounds, including those for PICU, pediatric ventilator and cardiac development.  Continuing to educate recurring providers and RNs regarding the role and/or need for speech-language pathology also helps patients to be appropriately referred for assessment and treatment of communication and/or swallowing as part of their hospitalization. Inpatient pediatric SLPs also work closely with their rehab colleagues in physical and occupational therapies to ensure that patients are receiving comprehensive care. 

While inpatient pediatric SLPs provide comprehensive speech-language services to all of the inpatient units at C.S. Mott, they also participate in a number of unique programming opportunities, including the following:

Many of the referrals to outpatient pediatric speech-language pathology are generated when parents or caregivers express concerns to their child’s primary care physician.

Outpatient pediatric SLPs at two of the ACUs, the Pediatric Rehabilitation Center and Briarwood Pediatric Rehabilitation, collaborate with pediatric occupational therapists to offer the STEPS Autism Treatment Program, which provides intensive individualized treatment for children with autism in a small group setting, with goals of improving a child’s language, social and cognitive skills. Social skills groups for elementary-age children and adolescents are also offered by pediatric SLPs at Briarwood Pediatric Rehabilitation.

See one of the following web resources for additional information regarding pediatric speech-language pathology here at Michigan Medicine, to refer a patient for outpatient pediatric speech therapy, to connect with a pediatric speech-language pathologist, or for additional information regarding Better Hearing and Speech Month:

Inpatient Pediatric Speech-Language Pathology

Outpatient Pediatric Speech-Language Pathology

https://www.asha.org/bhsm/

Stay tuned to additional Headlines articles throughout the month of May as we take a deeper dive into specific service lines within speech-language pathology.