My specialization is specifically focussed on speech/language development of children, as I am very interested in this stage of development of a child.

After my graduation I followed several post-higher professional education courses regarding speech/language development of children. This is an ever returning subject at the meetings of our quality circle.

I also treat many adults with voice complaints. Also in this field I followed several post-higher professional education courses. In addition to curing voice complaints, a basis can also be laid for singing.

Apart from speech therapy specializations I went deeply into the subject of sensory integration. With some children this way of working is more appropriate, since their problems require a different approach.

What is sensory integration? (Source : website anders kijken naar kinderen)

Sensory integration means taking in, selecting and integrating information, registered by the senses. To act adequately in daily life it is important that the sensory observations are well  converted by the nervous system. The sensory integration plays an important part in the sensory motor and the social and emotional development of children.

If the sensory stimulation is not functioning well, different and often confusing problems can arise. For example by certain  sensory stimulation children can become remarkably boisterous or they react extremely fierce and emotional to stimulations we hardly notice. Also the contrary is possible. Children hardly notice stimulation and compared to other children need more stimulation to adequately react and function.

Problems with articulation, feeding, little or no fluency in speech can all be caused by insufficient sensory data processing.

Sensory integration problems are not always recognized since often there are no clear physical causes, while they can impede the child’s development in all aspects.

It is important to take care that during treatment all senses function and register as best one can. Do not allow too much information to enter nor too little. This can be managed in many ways and has a positive influence on the speech therapy, as a result of which the lessons learnt can be applied sooner.