Four-year-old Liam couldn’t speak in full sentences like typical kids his age. He was extremely shy and would avoid talking to others. At parties and family events, Liam would hide in a corner and play with toys by himself. Liam even struggled to communicate with his parents, Natasha and Isaak.

“He wouldn’t know what words to use so he would get really frustrated and would throw tantrums because he didn’t know how to communicate,” Isaak explained. “A lot of times we didn’t understand what he was trying to tell us and we’d have to ask him multiple times. So he wouldn’t want to start a conversation. It was difficult for him.”

Liam’s pediatrician was concerned, and even suggested that Liam may be on the autism spectrum. The doctor thought it would be a good idea to wait before testing, but Liam’s parents decided to pursue speech therapy for their son at 321go Kids.

“There are a lot of things that we as parents are really good at: raising a child, giving them affection, and providing love and support. But as parents, we’re not always capable of everything and sometimes you need professional help for your child’s benefit,” shared Isaak.

Identifying solutions through speech therapy

During his first appointment with Emily, the speech language pathologist at 321go Kids, Liam only interacted with her for half of his session. Emily recalls that Liam curled up into a ball and tried to disappear into his dad’s lap. Emily identified Liam’s articulation disorder, which means he struggles to say specific sounds in certain parts of words. He also has a mild expressive language disorder, which is working on things like plural words.

Liam’s parents wanted to see their son increase his communication skills and vocabulary. They wanted Liam to feel more at ease talking to his friends and family, and they wanted his words to be defined so people could understand him.

It took a few sessions for Liam to get comfortable around Emily before they could start working on these goals. Emily used games and toys to work on the skills Liam needed to develop.

“To work on his articulation and expressive disorder, we usually play a game… he really likes Candy Land,” Emily described. “So his therapy work is incorporated in all the fun, and he is able to work hard and get things done.”

Because Liam lives in a bilingual home, Emily developed a unique approach to his speech therapy. She would incorporate the sounds he was struggling with that are in both languages. Liam’s family also learned activities they could do at home, providing them with the opportunity to be involved in his journey.

“At therapy, we didn’t teach him English or Spanish, we just taught him how to appropriately enunciate and articulate these sounds,” said Emily. “We worked on words that are going to be beneficial to him in everyday life. My goal was to have him say his sounds correctly.”

‘The Soul of the Party’

A year later, Liam’s days of hiding in the corner at social gatherings are in the past. During the family’s recent Christmas gathering, the five-year-old was running around and playing with all the kids.

“Liam was the soul of the party, having fun running around with the kids who were there,” Isaak shared. “He’s a lot more confident and he gets super happy when he’s playing with other kids. He wants to be in conversations and talk to people.”

Emily loves seeing Liam’s progress. Now when he comes to speech therapy appointments, he runs back to the room, picks out a game, and is ready to accomplish the day’s goals. He initiates conversations with her and even goes to the gym at 321go Kids, an area that he previously avoided.

“He’s come a long way. As he continues to grow and more of his sounds develop and more of his language skills develop, speech therapy will continue to help him grow,” Emily noted. “We strive to make 321go Kids a place where kids feel comfortable with us and what we do. We’re a safe place for them to grow.”

Could your child grow in their communication and social skills through speech therapy? Find out how you can discover hope and unleash your child’s potential by taking the quiz at 321gokids.com.