Hello! My name is Kim Davis. I am the speech-language pathologist at Shopville Elementary. I work with children from age three through fifth grade.
Speech language pathologists (also called speech therapists or SLP's) diagnose, treat and help prevent speech, language, fluency and voice disorders. SLP's also work with students that have little or no verbal speech. They can help select and teach the use of augmentative or alternative communication methods such as sign language, picture systems or automated devices.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions!
Fluency - A fluency disorder impacts the normal flow of speech. Speech may include repetitions (sp sp sp spoon), prolongations (nnnnnnnnnnnno), or blockages (no sound). There may also be unusual body/facial movements or distracting sounds.
Voice - Students with a voice disorder may use an inappropriate pitch (too high or too low), quality (hoarse, harsh, breathy or nasal), loudness (too loud or too soft) or duration (the ability to sustain voice).
Language - A language disorder impacts the ability to understand and use language as well as same age peers. Delays may be in morphology (word form and structure), syntax (sentence form and structure), pragmatics (use of social language), or semantics (vocabulary).
Speech Sound Production - Speech sound production disorders impact the ability to produce speech sounds or produce them correctly. Misarticulations may include substitutions (tup for cup), omissions (tay for stay), or distortions. Children with a speech sound disorder may be difficult to understand or have speech that is distracting to the listener.
Phonology - Phonology involves how sounds fit together in words. It is the sound system of our language. Children with phonological disorders can be very difficult to understand or unintelligible. Even parents or close family members may have difficulty understanding the child. Children with a phonological disorder may use certain processes to simplify words such as deletion of final consonants (bat becomes ba), cluster simplification (spot becomes pot), or syllable reduction (window becomes win