Now accepting new clients in Waxhaw, NC and surrounding areas!
simply speech, pllc
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Together we will create a treatment plan targeted to meet your child’s specific needs through fun and engaging therapy sessions.
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Good communication skills are essential for learning, forming relationships, and building healthy self-esteem. It is my mission to provide all children with the tools necessary to become efficient and confident communicators.
getting started
does your child have a communication delay?
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A free 30-minute phone consultation is offered to discuss your questions and concerns to determine if a screening is needed. ​If/when a screening is completed, the Speech Language Pathologist will review the results with you and provide recommendations.
how are your child's
individual needs determined?
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If the screening indicates that further assessment is needed, An evaluation is performed by a certified Speech Language Pathologist to determine current strengths and weaknesses. You will receive a complete written evaluation report, complete with formal assessment results, informal observations, background information, and recommendations.
where does a speech
therapy session take place?
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If speech therapy is recommended based on evaluation results, sessions are conveniently offered in your home, at the child's daycare/preschool, or at my home office located in Waxhaw.
speech sound disorders
Speech Sound Disorders are communication disorder characterized by persistent difficulties in producing speech sounds. Most children make some mistakes as they learn to say new words, but a child who does not say sounds by their expected ages may have a speech sound disorder. Only a certified speech language pathologist is qualified to provide a differential diagnosis of speech sound disorders. Speech sound disorders include problems with articulation (sound production), phonology (sound patterns), Childhood Apraxia of Speech (deficits of motor planning) and/or may be caused by structural differences (cleft lip/palate) or physiological deficits (tongue thrust, dysarthria).
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Articulation refers to how we produce specific sounds with our mouths. Articulation disorders often involve substitutions of one sound for another (/w/ for /r/ as in "wabbit" for "rabbit") or sound distortions, such a frontal or lateral lisp. Most children can say almost all sounds correctly by the age of 5.
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Phonology refers to how we use individual sounds in the context of language. Children with phonological delays/disorders frequently exhibit consistent patterns of sound substitutions or omissions. For example, children with the phonological pattern of "fronting" consistently produce sounds made with the back of the tongue (like /k/ and /g/) with the front of the tongue; so, /k/ becomes /t/ ("key" sounds like "tea") and /g/ becomes /d/ ("go" sounds like "doe"). The more phonological patterns a child exhibits the more difficult they are to understand. If a 3-year-old isn't able to be understood by strangers about 75% of the time (90-100% for 4-year-olds) then a speech assessment should be recommended.
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​Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is a rare motor speech disorder. Children with CAS have problems saying sounds, syllables, and words not because of muscle weakness or paralysis, but because the brain has problems planning movements of speech. The child knows what he or she wants to say, but his/her brain has difficulty coordinating and planning the muscle movements necessary to say those words. Children with CAS are often extremely difficult to understand. CAS is often confused with other speech sound disorders and should only be diagnosed by a speech language pathologist.
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Tongue Thrust (also known as a myofunctional disorder) occurs when the tongue protrudes out of the mouth or forcefully against the back of the front teeth when swallowing or talking. Children with a tongue thrust often present with errors of particular sounds, such as lisping of /s/ and /z/ sounds.
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Cleft Lip/Palate If a child has only a cleft lip, speech development should be typical or very close to typical. Children with cleft lip and palate or cleft palate only often need speech intervention to monitor speech development and to treat any speech delays or errors that they might develop. Some children will require speech therapy. Others will require further surgery. And others may require both.
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Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder caused by muscle weakness. Signs of dysarthria include slurred speech, breathy vocal quality, and imprecise sound production.
language
Language includes word meaning skills, vocabulary knowledge, grammar, word endings, and interactions with the people around us.
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Receptive language is the understanding of information provided in a variety of ways such as sounds and words; movement and gestures; and signs and symbols. Children often acquire elements of receptive language faster than expressive language. Because of this, our receptive language vocabulary is generally larger than that of our expressive language.
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Expressive language is our ability to communicate our thoughts and feelings through words, gestures, signs, and/or symbols. It can be as simple as pointing to a desired object or as complex as writing a book about an area of interest. Talking is the main form of communication people think about when discussing expressive language. And, although it is the most common, there are other types of communication that are just as effective. Some other examples include sign language, a picture exchange system, the use of a speech-generating device, or writing. But, keep in mind, these are just the systems we use to communicate.
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Social thinking skills and pragmatic language skills help us make sense of our own and others’ thoughts and feelings. Social language is our ability to interact with other people, getting through our daily routines, and even managing our reactions to what happens.
meet stephanie conkling
Hey there!
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My name is Stephanie and I’m so
excited you stopped by my website!
I am a wife, mom, fur mom, and Speech-Language Pathologist living in Waxhaw, NC. I am the proud mother of 3 children ages 12, 14, and 21 and fur mom to a 5-year old golden retriever. When I’m not negotiating with our teenage children and helping our oldest daughter navigate young adulthood, I’m living out my desire to help children learn how to communicate effectively!
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With 15 years of experience as a pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist in both private practice and school based settings, my passion is helping children speak clearly and to express themselves to the fullest of their ability. I firmly believe forming positive relationships with parents accelerates the therapy progress. I happily share my professional knowledge with my families, so they may continue to encourage newly acquired skills throughout their daily routines.
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Life is busy and I strive to help parents access exceptional speech services easily and conveniently so that every child can be a confident communicator.
I look forward to meeting you and serving your family!
payment information
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simply speech.PLLC is private-pay/self-pay only. Payment by cash, check, or credit/HSA card is due at the completion of each visit. (Special accommodations may be arranged for preschool/childcare and teletherapy visits).
I will gladly provide a receipt for submission to your flexible spending/health savings account or simple bill for insurance upon request.