Mrs. Babcock's Speech/Language Therapy 

I have been working at Claxton for 17 years as a Speech Language Pathologist. I have the pleasure of working with students in Kindergarten through 5th grade. I also work with community preschoolers who live within the Claxton school district. 

What is Speech/Language Therapy (Pathology)?  

Speech-language pathology is practiced by a clinician known as a speech-language pathologist (SLP), also called speech and language therapist, or speech therapist, who specializes in the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of communication disorders, cognition and voice disorders. Communication disorder include, but are not limited to, articulation (sound productions); fluency (stuttering); voice; receptive and expressive language disorders.

A speech disorder refers to a problem with the actual production of sounds. A language disorder refers to a problem understanding or putting words together to communicate ideas

Speech disorders include:

• Articulation disorders: difficulties producing sounds in syllables or saying words incorrectly to the point that listeners can't understand what's being said.
• Fluency disorders: problems such as stuttering, in which the flow of speech is interrupted by abnormal stoppages, partial-word repetitions ("b-b-boy"), or prolonging sounds and syllables (sssssnake).
• Resonance or voice disorders: problems with the pitch, volume, or quality of the voice that distract listeners from what's being said. These types of disorders may also cause pain or discomfort for a child when speaking.

Language disorders can be either receptive or expressive:

• Receptive disorders: difficulties understanding or processing language.
• Expressive disorders: difficulty putting words together, limited vocabulary, or inability to use language in a socially appropriate way.