Speech therapySpeech pathology is a field in which people are trained to recognize and treat through speech therapy various speech disorders. Speech disorders are disorders related to production of normal speech. They are also called speech impediments and include all disorders related to normal speech such as
stuttering, apraxia, lisps, clutering, dysprosody and such. People who for some reason or the other are unable to speak at all are considered mute. In all only about 5% to 10% of the total population of the earth has completely normal speech patterns which do not have any sort o speech disorders. The causes of speech disorders are varied and in most cases unknown. The known causes of impairment in speech include;
hearing loss, brain injury, carnial tumors, mental retardation, dementia and Alzheimer’s may also produce speech disorders. drug abuse and certain physical ailments in children such as clef lip and palate have also been implicated. The scope of practices in speech therapy includes;
prevention, screening, counseling, assessment diagnosis, treatment, intervention and follow up of patients suffering from speech disorders. Speech involves
phonation, articulation resonance and aeromechanical aspects of respiration. When all these facets of speech are in sync only then does proper speech take place. If any of these aspects are not functional or dysfunctional pathologic speech may occur. A speech therapist firstly needs to recognize the aspect of speech that is not functional and then go about correcting it.
Language , sensory awareness, and cognitive aspects of speech are also very important and not to be underestimated. Hence speech therapy requires carefull evaluation firstly of a persons fundamental grasp of speech and then g about treating it.Speech therapy also includes establishment of techniques and strategies for people who cannot produce normal speech, this is knon as alternative and augmentative communication and is the responsibility of a speech therapist to prescribe and develop such systems. Providing assistance to people suffering from hearing loss and for there families is also the prerogative of a speech therapist and the therapy involved includes things like
auditory training, speechreading, speech and language intervention and such. Speech therapy also includes the screening of patients for participation in tympanometry and further evaluation using techniques such as
videofluroscopy, nasendoscopy, stroboscopy and EMG’s . all these techniques help in the correct diagnosis of the speech empidment and thus provide data for the parameters of the speech disorder itself. Ones a positive diagnosis has been established a speech therapist may then proceed in giving counseling and therapy for the disorder itself. This therapy involves accent modification and other auditory tools to modify speech. A speech pathologist should also be very well connected with others in the field. He should be able to give competent advice as to the course of treatment duration and the eventual efficacy of the treatment. Speech therapist should also be empathetic to the patients cause as many people suffering from speech disorders develop in times anti social behaviors and are bashful. Hence false hope should never be given and if required the correct referrals should be made.
