The "Words with Sound" project was launched in the current school year, at the initiative of the Viana do Castelo City Council, after an experimental phase in 2022, in which 77 children aged between 5 and 6 were monitored. "Intervention at this stage of children's development is important because it precedes their entry into the first cycle. If any difficulty is detected early, it is possible to refer the child to the response they need, whether it be speech therapy or other services", the project coordinator, Sofia Araújo, explained to Lusa. According to the specialist, "the need for speech therapy has increased a lot" after the Covid-19 pandemic, which led the local authority to design an intervention project to take the speech therapist to schools to assess and screen for difficulties that will interfere with learning. The coordinator of "Words with Sound" explained that in the activities developed with the 134 children, divided into 12 groups, "all areas of speech therapy are addressed, from speech, language, voice, breathing, chewing, swallowing and facial motor skills". In these sessions, the activities are geared towards metalinguistic development, especially in the phonological component (word, syllable and phoneme awareness). The results of the first year of implementation of the project, which involves parents and the school community, will be known at the end of the school year, but since September "some children have been referred for both speech therapy and psychological support, developmental consultations and otorhinolaryngology". "There are children who have speech difficulties, others who have language difficulties and in these cases, they are referred for speech therapy. The same happens when we detect the need for psychological monitoring, or by an ENT doctor because severe speech difficulties are identified", she said. Sofia Araújo highlighted the importance of "prevention" in this area and of "promoting health literacy and education to ensure the adequate development of human communication, enhancing linguistic skills directly related to the acquisition of essential skills for the child's development". Speaking to Lusa, the councillor responsible for Health Promotion, Ricardo Rego, said that in the next school year the municipality intends to "extend the scope of the project, covering a greater number of children and educational establishments". "The municipality will invest around 20 thousand euros, an amount that could increase if we manage to expand the project to more schools. But it is with great satisfaction that we announce the continuation of this initiative, which aims to ensure the early detection of communication problems in pre-school children", added Ricardo Rego. For the councillor responsible for health promotion, "prevention is the key to a healthier future, and investing in children's health is investing in the municipality's future". Read Also: "Appropriate clothing". High school bans "excessive cleavage" and "short" shorts (Portuguese version)