Disclosure: collaborative post
There are many areas in life, where as a result ofa developmental disorder, injury or accident, that children and adults may need some extra help in order to progress through life.
A range of specialists and specialisms exists that can help individuals to become better after such incidents, and one of those is speech therapists.
What is Speech Therapy
Speech therapy (sometimes known as speech language therapy) is the blanket term given to a wide range of different therapeutic techniques and exercises that are used by speech therapists in order to help their clients. In this time of the pandemic, Better Speech goes online in providing speech therapy services. To know more about their services, contact them to schedule a free consultation.
A disorder is a term used to identify something that is not fully functioning as it should, which is the case in disorders requiring speech therapy.
Speech therapy tends to be designed to treat or minimise the effects of a number of different speech disorders, including:
Articulation Disorders – these are when someone is not able to make particular sounds, or makes a sound different from the one that is desired or intended. For example, a th sound instead of an s.
Fluency Disorders – these are when someone is not able to speak in the normal flowing manner that is common in everyday speech. This will include the fluency of speech in terms of its rhythm, speed and flow. A common example of a fluency disorder is stuttering (where speech can be halted) or cluttering (where speech can be too fast).
Resonance (voice) Disorders – these are when a blockage in the regular airflow in either the nose or the mouth alters the vibrations (and therefore the sounds) of speech. An example is a cleft palate.
Receptive Disorders – these are when someone has trouble understanding what others say to them. Other language disorders such as hearing loss or autism can cause receptive disorders. This disorder may not affect speech itself, or it may lead to a limited vocabulary due to a disinterest in listening and speaking.
Expressive Disorders – these are when someone has difficulty in expressing themselves verbally. An example would be an inability to form sentences accurately or consistently, with common grammar mistakes. This is particularly the case the developmental issues.
Cognitive-communication Disorders – these are when someone has difficult communicating with others due to an injury or accident, as temporary or permanent damage has been caused to the brain. This may involve memory problems or difficulties in listening and speaking to others. It can also be caused by developmental issues.
Aphasia – this is when the ability to speak or understand others has been impaired. Most commonly this is because of a stroke, although other disorders of the brain can cause this issue.
Dysarthria – this is when someone speaks in an exaggerated slow or slurred manner, usually due to weakness of the muscles used for speech or an inability to control them effectively. It is commonly caused by disorders of the nervous system as well as strokes.
Who needs Speech Therapy?
Speech therapy is most common in two groups of people.
The first group is children and young people who have a developmental disorder. Typically, this is likely to be either autism or Down Syndrome, although there are a wide range of potential development and neurological disorders that could cause speech issues in children and young people.
The second group is adults who have had an injury or an accident that has affected their ability to speak and communicate. A very common cause of injury requiring speech therapy is a stroke, where weakness or paralysis of the facial muscles has made it harder for the individual to speak or to successfully form the sounds and words for them to be understood by others. Head injuries are another common form of injury that can affect speech. It is of course possible, as with adults, for children to be affected by strokes and head injuries that require speech therapy, although it is much less likely, certainly in the case of strokes and similar neurological damage.
What happens during Speech Therapy?
Before speech therapy takes place, it is important that a comprehensive diagnosis and evaluation is conducted on the individual. This will include the history of the person, how they have come to where they are (in terms of what has caused them to require speech therapy) and what speech disorder or disorders they need help with.
Speech therapy is often conducted on a one-to-one basis, although with young children group therapy may occur. Group therapy can be particularly beneficial for young children in situations where interacting with others is part of their condition, for example with receptive or expressive disorders.
Conversation is a common part of speech therapy, particularly for adults, and patients of all ages will often benefit from practice in modelling sounds. For example, a patient may need practice in relearning to sound the oosound after an injury or stroke.
A patient, young or old, with stuttering or cluttering issues, may benefit from exercises that help them to complete sentences without stuttering or to express themselves more slowly in order to avoid cluttering.
Increasingly, technological options such as websites or apps provide speech therapy tools and exercises.
How long someone requires speech therapy for will vary depending on the severity of the condition and the patient’s response to treatment, although often they may be given exercises to help them for years.
Finding a Speech Therapist
Finding a speech therapist may be as easy as a referral from a doctor in general practice, or it may be more involved through a combination of personal research (for example, searching the Internet for speech therapists in a general area) or through personal recommendations.
Although most speech therapists will be able to help anyone of any age, it may be worth considering when researching, whether a specialism in young people or adults is necessary, as well as specialisms in neurological developmental disorders or helping people after an injury has taken place.
A well-qualified and experienced speech therapist can help individuals to overcome many disorders and injuries over time to live a relatively normal and productive life.
You can also venture out with Sound therapy! check out Nature Sound Retreat.
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