The benefits of pediatric speech therapy for children and their parents
A speech therapist is a specialist who identifies and corrects speech defects. It is a mistake to think that only young children need speech therapy; often adults and even older people may require similar services. Since there are many causes of speech defects, it can be either trauma or persistence of the defect from childhood.
A speech therapist works with incorrect pronunciation of both individual sounds and entire phrases.
Many people mistakenly believe that the work of specialists is limited to pronunciation of sounds, but this is not so. Speech disorders have a wide range of possible manifestations that require timely correction. A specialist works not only with an existing problem: he can help in early recognition and even prevention of a number of speech problems.
Why is pediatric speech therapy important?
Although speech problems are not fatal, they can make a person's life very difficult and interfere with communication with other people. This is especially important in childhood. During this period, when speech is still being formed, most defects appear. That is why most violations can be successfully eliminated.
Preschool age is considered the most favorable for working with speech disorders, but this does not mean that parents of schoolchildren should resign themselves to the existing problems.
Correction is possible at a later age, but in this case the process will be more difficult.
The second important factor is that children cannot show tact and understand another child’s speech problem. In most cases, the attitude towards peers with any special needs is not very good, even cruelty and bullying. This can lead to psychological trauma in a child, prevent him from learning, building communication correctly, and contribute to the emergence of psychological complexes. This can be a huge trauma not only in childhood, but also in adulthood.
In what cases does a child need specialist help?
The rhythm of development of speech centers in children is different, so a child’s skills lagging behind the examples of your friends is not yet a violation. The reason may be related to the speech development characteristics of a particular child. Also, you should not expect that the baby will immediately and clearly begin to speak. But there are a number of key points that indicate that the child needs the help of a speech therapist.
For a child under one year old to visit a speech therapist, the first such factor is lack of pronunciation.
Usually the baby reacts to communication with adults: he hums, babbles, smiles. If this is not the case, then contacting a specialist is necessary.
A child between one and three years of age requires specialist help if a diagnosis of cerebral palsy is made. Consultation will also be required if the parents (or one of the parents) had delayed speech development in childhood. Help will also be needed if problems with hearing, vision, or a shortened frenulum of the tongue are diagnosed.
Between the ages of three and five years, a child needs specialist help in the following cases:
- pronounces sounds or syllables incorrectly,
- problems with pronunciation speed (hurries, swallows words),
- consistency in speech is impaired (gender, case, number, etc.), and does not respond to corrections from adults,
- can't make a sentence
- cannot clearly connect several sentences and a short story.
Contacting a specialist is also necessary because parents themselves may not pay attention to their children’s mistakes or may not hear them.
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The main goals and objectives of the work of a speech therapist
The main goal of a speech therapist’s work is to create conditions under which correction and subsequent development of speech occurs in a child.
To achieve the goal, a number of tasks must be solved:
- identifying and eliminating problems in oral and written speech,
- correction of motor skills disorders,
- timely detection and prevention of a number of speech problems.
A speech therapist works with the following disorders:
- lack of speech
- incorrect pronunciation of sounds and their combinations,
- speech speed disorder (the child speaks slowly or quickly),
- reading problems,
- defects associated with hearing impairment,
- consequences of surgery associated with speech impairment,
- slurred speech
- problems with pronunciation due to anatomical features (lips, palate),
- consistency disorders (for example, stuttering),
- problems with mastering writing.
These are the most common problems that arise during speech formation.
Production plan
In this section, we will consider the production plan for launching a speech therapy room: choosing premises, equipment, hiring staff and paperwork.
Selecting the required premises
Typically, in such cases, premises are chosen in a school, private medical center or business center. The location should be convenient for your potential clients. Good transport accessibility is required. It is advisable to have parking.
The office should be located on the ground floor: a higher location is possible only with an elevator.
An area of about 25 square meters is enough for one office. meters. It is advisable to zone the room and allocate a place where parents can wait for their children. It's a good idea to designate a gaming space. If you don't yet have or have few regular clients, consider renting by the hour.
It is not prohibited by law to receive clients at home, but most speech therapists work in non-residential premises: this is more convenient for clients and increases confidence in the speech therapist as a specialist.
Equipment and furniture
The furniture set is standard - several tables and chairs, a couch, a wardrobe; a sofa or several chairs and a coffee table - for the waiting room. You will also need a computer. No special equipment is required for the office.
Communications
The room must be equipped with all necessary communications - sewerage, heating, hot and hot water supply, ventilation. It is advisable that the office have a sink.
Staff
A speech therapy room requires virtually no workers. The priority of a good speech therapist is the owner of the office himself. If there is great demand, you can invite another speech therapist to help. In addition, we need an administrator who will meet students and their parents, conduct consultations over the phone, and keep order in the reception area and other rooms of the speech therapy room.
| Employee | Salary |
| Part-time teacher | 10 000 |
| Administrator | 20 000 |
| Total | 30 000 |
Organizational plan
As a rule, most parents prefer a reception time after 16:00; you will have to adapt to their schedule. Many offer discounts in the morning. It also makes sense to make Saturday a working day: many parents find it more convenient to take their children on weekends.
Work staff
Most often, novice specialists open an office for themselves and work there independently. But you can rent one office for several speech therapists and doctors of related specialties (for example, speech pathologists).
You will need a cleaner, and if there is a large flow of orders, an administrator. If you register an individual entrepreneur, you will also need an outsourced accountant.
Search for clients
Word of mouth works best in this type of business. If you are a competent speech therapist with good results (or you have such a specialist on your staff), the flow of clients is guaranteed. If not, use the following promotion methods:
- distributing flyers, posting advertisements in children's institutions (schools, kindergartens, clinics, medical centers for children),
- advertising on the Internet (for example, contextual advertising),
- promotion through parent forums and groups on social networks,
- maintaining social networks or an expert blog on any platform.
To build a client base from scratch, offer free consultations - some of the people you attract may become your client on a paid basis.
Design and interior of a speech therapy room
After completing all the documentation for renting the premises, you need to think about the interior of the office. The most necessary items are a table, chairs, cabinets, computer equipment, and a play corner for a child. If the room consists of two rooms, then a smaller room can be equipped for parents who will wait for their child during classes. If there are no such conditions, it is advisable to organize a place for parents in the lobby. Renovations in the office should accordingly be moderately child-friendly, so that children feel comfortable being in it.
Registration of business in the organizational and legal field
The activities of speech therapists do not require licensing: it is enough to have a diploma in the specialty. If your region has a tax regime for the self-employed, and you do not hire employees, and your income does not exceed 200,000 rubles per month, then you can register as a self-employed citizen and pay a 4% tax for working with individuals.
Another option is to register as an individual entrepreneur. This will take three working days. It is necessary to fill out and submit an application to the tax office at the place of registration, provide a copy of your passport and pay a fee of 800 rubles. After this, you need to open a bank account for an individual entrepreneur.
Selecting OKVED
According to the 2021 classifier, OKVED code 86.90 is suitable for such activities - other medical activities.
Registration with state control authorities
In case of registration of an individual entrepreneur, you need to obtain a standard package of documents: from the fire service and Rospotrebnadzor. You must have a rental agreement for the premises. No additional permits or licenses are required.
Office requirements
To open a speech therapy office, you need a room with an area of at least 20 sq.m. An ideal choice would be an office in children's educational institutions, or free offices in offices. Particular attention should be paid to its location relative to transport, the city area, and children's playgrounds, because mothers will be traveling with children of different ages. If in a new microdistrict, then you need to assess the solvency of the residents of the microdistrict, because although the prices for speech therapist services are not high, you still need to pay for them. In the building, the office should be located no higher than the second floor or the ascent should be organized using an elevator.
Budget
Costs vary depending on the size and location of the business. Here is an approximate estimate (in rubles):
- rent – from 15,000 rubles,
- repairs (if necessary) – from 15,000 rubles,
- furniture and equipment – from 50,000 rubles,
- books, manuals, consumables – from 10,000 rubles,
- individual entrepreneur registration – from 10,000 rubles.
Monthly expenses:
- rent – from 15,000 rubles,
- taxes: from 5000 rubles,
- utility bills: from 3000 rubles,
- wage fund: from 10,000 rubles.
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Expected profit
The price of one lesson starts from 300 rubles and can reach several thousand rubles - it all depends on the location, qualifications of the specialist and the list of problems with which the speech therapist was contacted. Group classes are slightly cheaper.
Taking into account the relatively low start-up investments in a business, expenses can be recouped within the first year of operation.
Subtleties of the educational process
Depending on the age of the patient, as well as the causes of speech defects, the speech therapist may work in close collaboration with other specialists. For example, in case of problems with speech development due to hearing impairment, observation by an otolaryngologist may also be required. Work is possible in a group or individually.
In each specific case, a correction plan is drawn up, depending on the tasks and goals of the work.
Each specialist develops his own set of measures, but three main areas can be distinguished.
- Sensorimotor development
The importance of sensory development for children is difficult to overestimate. Sensory learning is associated with the accumulation of knowledge about the external world: shape, color, sound, etc. The more actively a child is involved in the process of studying the world around him, the more knowledge he will be able to accumulate about it, the more he will be able to develop the ability to use sensory systems.
It is most preferable for a child to learn through play, and sensory games make it possible to create a favorable background for classes with a speech therapist. With the accumulation of sensory experience, spontaneous speech formation is formed, and not just memorization.
The use of finger exercises is also effective, especially in cases of problems with written speech.
Often, various materials for sensory development are laid out in direct access so that children can independently study some aspects of the sensory systems while waiting for an appointment or during breaks.
- Defectology
Also in his work, a specialist can use the following techniques that are aimed directly at speech defects:
- in case of damage to the speech apparatus, massage can be used,
- breathing techniques, since proper breathing is the basic basis for speech formation,
- articulatory gymnastics, aimed at developing the muscles of the tongue and lips,
- speech exercises are associated with repeated repetition of the correct pronunciation in order to consolidate it in memory.
This list is far from exhaustive; a speech therapist compiles a full range of methods based on the existing problem.
- Psychology
The use of psychology by a speech therapist is complementary. In some cases, speech disorders may arise from psychological problems, in which case the joint work of a speech therapist and a psychologist is required.
But even if there are objective problems of speech impairment (for example, the result of an operation), the psychological component cannot be completely dismissed. Knowing the characteristics of the patient’s psyche, it is easier to adjust the work process and create comfortable conditions.
The use of psychological methods allows us to optimize the work of a speech therapist.
What results can speech therapy achieve?
The result of working with a specialist directly depends on the complexity of the existing problems, developmental characteristics and level of development of mental processes. However, working with a speech therapist will not only improve the child’s condition, but also make progress in correcting speech disorders.
The benefits of visiting the studio for parents
It is important for parents to understand that the presence of speech defects will not go away on its own and may remain for life. And this determines the child’s communication capabilities in the future and the quality of his life, since speech is the basis of communication and socialization.
The work of a speech therapist involves a wide range of mental and physical functions.
In addition, a child with a speech impediment may have the following problems at school:
- problems with written speech, because if you pronounce words incorrectly, then writing them will also be incorrect,
- understands the material worse, which is why academic performance is not above average,
- problems in learning foreign languages,
- problems with oral subjects such as history, literature, etc.
Therefore, by attending classes with a speech therapist, parents make an investment in the future development of their child.
Market for products/services
A speech therapy studio can be opened either in a large city and serve one of the districts, or in a small town with a population of 100 thousand or more people and serve it entirely. The demand for such services is now stable throughout Russia.
Children attending classes can be sent to them at the parents' own request. Usually, before such classes, a consultation with a speech therapist is provided. However, your clients may also be children with a medical diagnosis related to speech and pronunciation. In this case, you can offer them individual lessons with a step-by-step plan for correcting defects.
As for creative activities, they will attract new little visitors to your salon, or prolong the visit for current clients. These could be various lessons on developing oratory skills and public speaking. Such skills are especially valued among young parents.
