by Sarah Warburton

Imagine wanting to say “Hello” or “I’m hungry” or “Can you help me”…and not being understood. How long would it take before you just started to scream in frustration? Local Speech Therapist Dana Johnson says, “Whether your one-year-old uses signs to get a juice box or your ten-year-old has the comprehension and vocabulary of a Kindergartner, what we say and how we say it is at the root of our connection with the world. Jason and I founded Speech Therapy Unlimited to empower people of all ages. We were thrilled when a recent survey revealed that 94% of our clients from doctors’ offices, schools , and agencies would recommend our services…and we’ll keep striving for perfection!”

“Each May, Better Hearing and Speech Month (BHSM) gives us another opportunity to raise awareness about communication disorders. Your child may have a speech, language, or hearing disorder if you see the following signs. If your child: Doesn’t smile or interact with others (birth–3 months); Doesn’t babble (4–7 months); Makes only a few sounds or gestures, like pointing (7–12 months); Says few words (12–18 months); Doesn’t understand what others say (7 months–2 years); Doesn’t put words together (18 months–2 years); Has unclear speech (2–3 years); Struggles to say sounds or words (2½–3 years).”

Identify the signs of a communication disorder early…because therapy makes a difference! Jason adds, “A child who ‘sounds’ fine but has the vocabulary and comprehension of a much younger child also needs speech therapy to improve communication. We don’t just deal with oral communication and articulation issues…we also work on comprehension, processing, planning, inferring, as well as all of the rest of the executive functions of the brain.”

A child who isn’t understood may throw a tantrum, and an adult who isn’t understood may feel isolated, depressed, and frustrated. Dana says, “Stroke can cause aphasia, a language disorder that results from damage to portions of the brain that are responsible for language. Often, a person can still think, but can’t find or assemble the right words to communicate. Speech therapy can help you regain the ability to express yourself and have others understand you, especially when intensive therapy begins soon after the stroke. In fact, although speech therapy has proved invaluable to me as the mother of four kids, listening to an adult first got me interested in the field.”

“When I was seven years old, my great grandmother had a laryngectomy. When she came back from the hospital, I was floored by how different she sounded. That’s the moment I started paying attention to how people speak. My mom was a teacher, and her emphasis on grammar meant I never lost that interest in speech. Once I entered an undergraduate program, I investigated speech therapy programs and the rest is history! For my husband Jason and I, speech therapy is the only thing we can imagine doing…we love it!”

Speech Therapy Unlimited, PLLC – most major insurance accepted
No Headaches, No Unreasonable Terms, Just Great Speech Therapists!
281-746-3053
12808 West Airport Blvd. Ste 332
Sugar Land, TX 77498
www.speechtherapyunlimited.com