Speech & Language Therapy for Children
If your child isn’t talking much yet, is hard to understand, stammers or has fallen behind on words, we help them find their voice, one child at a time, through play they actually enjoy.
About Speech Therapy
Speech and language therapy helps a child understand what is said to them and get their own thoughts out — as words, as sentences, and as sounds other people can follow. At Inclusive Developmental and Therapy Center on MPS Road in Model Town, Multan, speech therapy is one-on-one, built around play, and led by Mahnoor Baloch, a qualified Speech & Language Therapist.
Most parents who bring a child to us have carried the same quiet worry for a while. Maybe your little one is nearly three and still has a handful of words. Maybe everyone at home understands them but no one else can. Maybe they stammer. You don’t need a diagnosis or a referral to start — only a worry.
Every plan here is built around your child rather than a template, and I oversee each one myself.
Who this is for
- Late talkers and children still using only a few words
- Children whose speech is unclear and hard for others to follow
- Stammering and stuttering (dysfluency)
- Children who struggle to understand language or follow instructions
- A small vocabulary, or trouble stringing words into sentences
- Children who had words and then seemed to lose them
- Autistic children who are non-verbal or use very little speech
- Communication for children with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy or global developmental delay
- Speech and listening after hearing loss, hearing aids or a cochlear implant
- Chewing, feeding and swallowing difficulties linked to the mouth muscles
How do I know if my child needs speech therapy?
Ask for a speech and language assessment if your child has no single words by 18 months, has fewer than about 50 words or no two-word phrases by two, is understood by strangers less than about half the time at three, stammers for more than a few months, or has lost words they used to say. Any loss of skills should be checked promptly.
None of those are hard cut-offs, and plenty of children who tick one turn out to be fine. An assessment is simply the quickest way to stop guessing. Other things worth an appointment on their own:
- Repeated ear infections or glue ear, or a hearing check never done
- Frustration or meltdowns that flare when your child can’t make themselves understood
- A child who repeats back what you say instead of answering (echolalia)
- Trouble chewing, or gagging on lumpy food, alongside the speech worry
What does speech and language therapy actually involve?
Far more than “practising words”. We assess the whole communication system first, then work on the parts your child actually needs — often not the part parents expected. After that it is structured play, modelling, gentle repetition and small prompts that build one skill at a time.
- Understanding language (receptive) — following instructions, answering questions
- Using language (expressive) — words, sentences, grammar, telling you what happened
- Speech sounds — articulation and phonology, so people outside the family can follow
- Fluency — stammering, blocks and repetitions, and the pressure that builds around them
- Social communication — turn-taking, joint attention, staying on a topic
- Feeding and oral-motor skills — the muscles used to chew, swallow and speak
What happens when you bring your child to us in Multan?
We are on MPS Road in Block A, Model Town, near Bloomfield Hall School, and we see children from around 18 months to 16 years, Monday to Saturday. Sessions run in Urdu or English, whichever language your child actually hears most at home.
- A full speech and language assessment before we write any plan
- One-on-one, child-led sessions in a calm, friendly room
- Goals written in plain words, so you always know what we are aiming for
- Play your child genuinely enjoys, matched to their age and interests
- A short catch-up and one simple home activity after every session
- Regular reviews, so the plan keeps up with your child
How often will my child come, and for how long?
Most children come once or twice a week, and a session usually runs around forty-five minutes. We work in short blocks with a review at the end of each one, rather than committing you to an open-ended course. How long the whole thing takes depends on your child, which is why we set goals you can see progress against.
What changes first is usually not perfect speech — it is attempts. Children try more, point more and get frustrated less, often before any new word arrives. If progress stalls we say so and change the plan.
What can you start doing at home tomorrow morning?
Most of the repetitions a child needs happen with you, not with us. None of this asks for a resource pack, a screen or an hour you don’t have.
- Get face to face and down at your child’s level before you say anything.
- Comment, don’t quiz. “Big red bus!” teaches far more than “what colour is the bus?”
- Say it one word longer than your child does. They say “car”, you say “red car”.
- Pause and count to five after you speak. Many children need that beat, and most of us fill it for them.
- Offer a real choice — hold up two things and wait. That gives your child a reason to communicate.
- Accept a point, a gesture or a sound as a proper turn, then warmly model the word back.
Urdu, Saraiki or English — which language should we use at home?
Speak the language you are most fluent in. Growing up with Urdu, Saraiki, Punjabi and English does not cause speech delay, and switching to a language you are not comfortable in means your child hears less rich language, not more.
When we count your child’s words, we count them across every language. “Paani” and “water” are both words; if your child says one of each, that is two. Parents in Multan often undercount by counting only the English. Mixing two languages in one sentence is normal, not confusion.
And say it however it comes out — bacha bolta nahi, zaban saaf nahi, der se bolna. Speech and language therapy (گویائی کا علاج) runs in Urdu here just as readily as in English.
Should we just wait and see?
The early years are when a child’s brain takes language in most easily, and a delay that looks small at two has a way of showing up later as frustration, thinner friendships and a shaky start at school.
Some late talkers do catch up on their own, and if we think that is likely for your child we will say so. But nobody can tell which children those are by waiting — they can only be told apart afterwards. The thing parents tell me they wish they had done sooner is ask.
What a session actually looks like
- 1You and your child are welcomed into a calm, child-friendly room. With younger children you stay in the room with us.
- 2I play and chat with your child, slipping the targeted activities into the fun so it never feels like a test.
- 3We practise the goals through games, toys, books and pictures, never drills that feel like pressure.
- 4I note what your child managed today, so the next session picks up where this one finished.
- 5You get a short, clear update and one simple thing to try at home before we meet again.
What the research tells us
This isn’t just our opinion — it’s grounded in published research. Here are a few findings from trusted, independent sources:
A Cochrane systematic review of 25 studies found that speech and language therapy is effective for children with expressive vocabulary and speech-sound (phonological) difficulties.
— Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews — Law, Garrett & Nye (2003), CD004110. View sourceThe same review found no significant difference between therapy delivered by a clinician and therapy delivered by trained parents — which is why we coach you to support your child at home as part of every plan.
— Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews — Law, Garrett & Nye (2003), CD004110. View source
Other ways we can help
Speech Therapy: your questions answered
At what age can speech therapy start?
Speech therapy can begin in the toddler years, and we regularly work with children from around 18 months. If your child is about two and not yet using words, or you have a concern at any age, an early assessment is worthwhile. Young brains are at their most adaptable, so starting earlier usually means less catching up later.
My child understands everything but won’t talk. Is that normal?
Good understanding is an encouraging sign, but a gap between understanding and talking is exactly what speech therapy is built for. An assessment shows whether this is a delay needing support or simply your child’s own pace. More detail: why your child understands but won’t talk.
Do we need a diagnosis or a doctor’s referral first?
No. You can come to us directly — no referral, no diagnosis, no paperwork to get started. If the assessment suggests speech therapy is not the right first step, we say so plainly and point you to whichever of our children’s therapy services fits better. The quickest way to begin is to message or call us.
What happens in the first appointment, and what should I bring?
The first appointment is an assessment: we talk through your worries, watch your child play, sample how they understand and use language, and check speech clarity. Bring any hearing test, school report or medical letter you have. If the picture looks broader than speech, we may suggest a full developmental assessment first.
How many sessions will my child need, and when will we see a change?
Most children attend once or twice a week in short blocks, with a review at the end of each block. Some show change within weeks; others need longer, steadier support. Clear goals and regular reviews let you see the journey rather than guess at it. More on timelines: how long speech therapy takes.
Should my child have a hearing test first?
It is one of the most useful things you can do. A child who cannot hear clearly cannot copy speech clearly, and repeated ear infections or glue ear are common and easy to miss. We always ask about hearing, and we may ask you to get it checked alongside therapy. It rules out a fixable cause rather than delaying anything.
My child is autistic and non-verbal. Can speech therapy still help?
Yes. Communication is far wider than speech. We build whatever channel works for your child — gestures, pointing, pictures, signs, a device — while still encouraging spoken words, because a reliable way to be understood usually reduces frustration. This often sits inside our wider autism support programme.
Do you offer speech therapy in Urdu, and can we do sessions online?
Yes to both. We work with families in Urdu and English and match therapy to the language your child hears most at home. For families outside Multan, or where travelling every week is not realistic, we run online speech therapy sessions by video and coach you to run the practice between them.
Worried about your child? Let’s talk.
A short, friendly conversation is the best first step. Call, text or WhatsApp us — we’ll listen and guide you, with no pressure.
MPS Road, Block A Model Town, Multan (near Bloomfield Hall School, Street No. 2) · Mon–Sat, 10 AM – 7 PM