Speechtoos are the brainchild of a paediatric speech language pathologist (long title, there), who thought it would be useful to help kids who have something called speech sound disorder. According to Samantha Compton, the bright spark behind the gadget, speech sound disorder (SSD) is an umbrella term for a variety of disorders involving the production and perception of sounds. According to the US's National Institutes of Health, it's estimated that around 5 per cent of children ages 3-17 have SSDs and, of those, only half receive treatment. That's poor, really. UK stats say that speech, language, and communication needs (SLCN) is now the most common primary type of need, at 22 per cent of SEN pupils, and only 15 per cent of pupils with SLCN have an education, health and care plan. That's still not great.
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