{"id":344639,"date":"2025-10-19T08:37:52","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T08:37:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/what-are-a-speech-therapists-goals-when-treating-adhd\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T08:37:52","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T08:37:52","slug":"what-are-a-speech-therapists-goals-when-treating-adhd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/what-are-a-speech-therapists-goals-when-treating-adhd\/","title":{"rendered":"What are a speech therapist’s goals when treating ADHD?"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to the latest figures from Ameli (France’s national health insurance), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects around 5% of children<\/strong>, with a significant delay in diagnosis, which happens on average only at age 9-10[1]<\/a>. Ideally, frontline medical professionals<\/strong> refer children under 6 to a Coordination and Referral Platform (PCO, the French system for early diagnosis) for care. After that, they initiate assessments<\/strong>, including a speech therapy assessment<\/strong><\/a> to analyse language and communication (but not only that\u2026).<\/p>\n

Speech therapy support for ADHD<\/h2>\n

ADHD with language and communication difficulties<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When ADHD causes communication and language difficulties, turning to a speech therapist<\/a> makes a lot of sense. This can show up as pronunciation difficulties<\/strong>, more frequent repetitions and pauses<\/strong> than average, or a limited vocabulary<\/strong>, sometimes with errors. On the communication spectrum, the child may struggle to find the right words<\/strong>, to organise their thoughts<\/strong>, or to understand<\/strong> due to a lack of concentration\u2026<\/p>\n

In these areas, speech therapy can help narrow the language-level gap, optimise communication skills and provide tools to manage daily difficulties\u2026<\/p>\n

Managing attention disorders<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Speech therapy for attention disorders remains under-covered in the scientific literature. Yet this professional can offer specific exercises<\/strong> to improve the cognitive abilities of a child with ADHD. In the first sessions, they will assess the child’s skills to precisely determine their attentional capacities<\/strong>, their comprehension difficulties, and to map out the child’s specific needs.<\/p>\n

Among the speech-therapy techniques available, they can work on attention stimulation<\/strong> through memory games (visual or auditory), as well as sorting and classification exercises. To organise thinking<\/strong>, they may use lists and break complex tasks down into smaller steps.<\/p>\n

The role of the speech therapist at school and at home<\/h2>\n

The speech therapist can contribute to school accommodations<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Speech therapist Brigitte Lourtis highlights the importance of overrating the strengths<\/strong> of a child with ADHD and downplaying their weaknesses<\/strong>. As part of multidisciplinary care, professionals will suggest school accommodations<\/a> to better support the child at school.<\/p>\n

For example, they may recommend reducing background noise<\/strong> by seating the child next to a calm classmate. They will also stress the importance of establishing a relatively close relationship with the teacher<\/strong>: ideally, a single signal should be enough between them for the teacher to be understood if the child slips up in terms of attention or behaviour, so the child doesn’t get a remark said out loud that could undermine their confidence. This can create a negative spiral that reduces their self-confidence, discourages them, and can eventually turn them away from learning.<\/p>\n

The speech therapist can support parents facing ADHD<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In caring for a child with ADHD, parental support is essential<\/strong>. The speech therapist can then give parents some advice<\/strong> on creating a supportive environment<\/strong>, by reducing distractions (limiting noise, turning off the television) and organising the workspace (quiet, tidy).<\/p>\n

They can also support parents in setting up a clear routine<\/strong>, with regular times for homework, meals and bedtime. At the same time, they will encourage parents to highlight the child’s progress, even the smallest steps, to boost their motivation.<\/p>\n

More broadly, the speech therapist can refer parents to a <\/strong>parental guidance programme<\/strong><\/a> to build a positive family dynamic. By adjusting their parenting practices, they can better manage their child’s disruptive behaviour.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Figures: https:\/\/www.ameli.fr\/medecin\/sante-prevention\/sante-mentale-soins-primaires\/sante-mentale-4-ans-9-ans\/trouble-deficit-attention-hyperactivite-tdah<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to the latest figures from Ameli (France’s national health […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":344640,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[339],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-344639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-speech-therapy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=344639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344639\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/344640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=344639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=344639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=344639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}