Speech is our most important means of communication. This in turn enables people to participate in society. If it is impaired in any way, participation is directly restricted or even prevented. The most common problems here include phonation, vocabulary, grammar and language comprehension. This is particularly tragic for children who are also affected or threatened by a physical disability.
Speech acquisition takes place mainly between the ages of 0 and 6. It is precisely then that disruptions are drastic and losses are difficult to make up for later. This makes intensive early support of language development by speech therapists all the more worthwhile. This is because they focus specifically on promoting communicative skills. This support can be individually adapted to each child and his or her personal support needs within the framework of interdisciplinary cooperation with other medical and educational disciplines.
Through early speech therapy and diagnostics, an appropriate everyday vocabulary can be built up. Without this, children would find it difficult to express their needs in a targeted manner, to carry on conversations or to understand the concerns of their contacts.
In our interdisciplinary early intervention program, we formulate therapy goals for improving communication skills through constant exchange with the child’s relatives. In addition, we make it our task to accompany each child throughout their development until they start school.
We want to build a long-term and trusting bond with the child. This is just as necessary for language development as the therapy content itself. It also provides stability for the child and caregivers and is a reliable point of contact. The same applies to the support and education of parents or caregivers.
It is particularly important for us to make therapy content transparent and comprehensible to those outside the field. Only in this way can early intervention be continued by parents and relatives at home and integrated into everyday life. This is especially important in the area of language. We always work at eye level with parents and relatives. Respect and empathy are a natural part of our work. Especially due to our experience in working with patients of different cultural or linguistic backgrounds, tolerance and responsiveness are our top priority.
Those affected by the speech development disorder have problems understanding language and speaking themselves. In this case, it is particularly difficult not only to use language as a means of communication understandably and correctly, but also to express oneself in writing.
The aim of language support is to enable and improve communication, to prevent misunderstandings and to stimulate the child’s joy of speaking. The children should be able to express their needs confidently and be able to communicate with their social environment. Aided communication must also be established to compensate for deficits as much as possible. Here, too, we work effectively in a holistic, interdisciplinary and participation-oriented manner.
Multilingualism is a growing issue in our increasingly multicultural society. As more and more children grow up bi- or multilingual, delays in language development are unfortunately a frequent companion to their development. These can have a negative impact on engagement and thus inhibit the child’s social development.
Our team is available with English, Russian and German speaking therapists for treatment in multiple languages. Thus, we offer a targeted focus on children with multilingual backgrounds. In this way, we want to ensure that multilingualism is a personal gain for children and not a social disadvantage.
Voice disorders affect vocal articulation and/or respiratory function. If a child has difficulties with carrying capacity, loudness or prosody, this can significantly complicate his or her everyday life and that of those around him or her.
The scope of our practice includes the normalization of voice formation and the harmonization of respiratory function. Emphasis is placed on these areas, which are realistically assessed with relatives and with regard to the child’s resources and are constantly updated through progress diagnoses and documentation.
Swallowing disorders hinder or impair food intake. This often represents a considerable restriction in the child’s everyday life. For example, the consistency of food must be adjusted or there is a constant fear of aspiration of food. In the worst case, these can even be life-threatening.
IFF Erlomed staff work with the child’s closest caregivers to develop an optimal sitting position, strengthen the mouth/facial muscles, or show alternatives and improvements to the child’s food processing in everyday life. This can significantly improve the child’s quality of life or prevent complications. Relatives can also be informed and relieved in everyday life.
Audiotive perception and processing difficulties are a heavy burden for the affected children and are compensated by them in different ways. Symtoms can be shown that one does not immediately associate with hearing. Emotional instability, rapid exhaustion, inappropriate behavior, concentration and attention disorders are just a few examples.
The children find a structured environment in our practice. An individual treatment plan is created for each patient. The guidance of trained therapists provides peace of mind and security. Through our therapy, children develop secure auditory processing basics. They can orient themselves better, concentrate, learn more easily and communicate confidently.
Optional make an appointment:
Your contact person is Mrs. Sneshana Heim-Schmidt.
Opening hours: Mon. – Fri. 8:00 – 17:00