It has been suggested that Speech-Language Pathology, Speech pathology, Phoniatrics be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

Speech therapy (also called Speech & Language Therapy or Speech-Language Pathology) is the rehabilitative or corrective treatment of physical and/or cognitive deficits/disorders resulting in difficulty with communication and/or swallowing. // Scope of Practice The practice of speech-language pathology includes prevention, diagnosis, habilitation, and rehabilitation of communication, swallowing, or other upper aerodigestive disorders; elective modification of communication behaviors; and enhancement of communication. ... Disorder may refer to : A disease, in medicine Randomness (lack of order), in information theory This is a disambiguation page — a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Communication includes speech (articulation, intonation, rate, intensity), language (phonology, (morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics) both receptive and expressive language, (including reading and writing) and the non-verbal such as facial expression and gesture. Swallowing problems managed under Speech Therapy are problems in the oral, laryngeal, and/or pharyngeal stages of swallowing (not oesophageal). Look up Speech in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The vowels of modern (Standard) Arabic and (Israeli) Hebrew from the phonological point of view. ...

Depending on the nature and severity of the disorder, common treatments may range from physical strengthening exercises, instructive or repetitive practice and drilling, to the use of audio-visual aids and introduction of strategies to facilitate 'functional' communication. Speech therapy may also include sign language and the use of picture symbols (Diehl 2003).

Speech therapists are also trained to assess, treat and manage swallowing difficulties.

Speech therapists

Speech Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs), or Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) are allied health professionals. Health Services employ most SLTs. Other therapists work for education services or charities. Some therapists work independently and treat patients privately. Speech Therapists hold certificates to practice following a degree course and clinical training. In the United States, SLPs must complete a master's degree, which includes suppervised clinical practice in the areas of assessment and intervention for adults and children in speech (fluency, voice, articulation, phonology) and language. In the UK therapists can choose to extend their qualifications by completing a masters degree. A masters degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate (or graduate) course of one to three years in duration. ...

Patients / Clients

Speech and language therapists work with:

• Babies with feeding and swallowing difficulties
• Children with mild, moderate or severe:
  • learning difficulties
  • physical disabilities, language delay
  • specific language impairment
  • specific difficulties in producing sounds
  • hearing impairment
  • cleft palate
  • stammering
  • autism/social interaction difficulties
  • dyslexia
  • voice disorders
• Adults with eating and swallowing and/or communication problems following
  • stroke
  • head injury (Traumatic brain injury)
  • Parkinson's disease
  • motor neuron disease
  • multiple sclerosis
  • huntington's disease
  • dementia
  • cancer of the head, neck and throat (including laryngectomy)
  • voice problems
  • mental health issues
  • learning difficulties, physical disabilities
  • stammering (dysfluency)
  • hearing impairment
• etc!

If a child is younger than three years old, then the cost of speech therapy is likely covered by the state early intervention (zero to three) program. Feeding is the process by which organisms, typically animals, obtain food. ... Swallowing, known scientifically as deglutition, is the reflex in the human body that makes something pass from the mouth, through the esophagus. ... The term learning disability is used to refer to socio-biological conditions that affect a persons communicative capacities and potential to learn. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Specific language impairment (SLI) is a form of language disorder that affects both expressive and receptive language. ... Stuttering is a speech disorder in which pronunciation of the (usually) first letter or syllable of a word is repeated involuntarily. ... Autism is classified as a neurodevelopmental disorder that manifests in delays of social interaction, language as used in social communication, or symbolic or imaginative play, with onset prior to age 3 years, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. ... Developmental dyslexia is a said to be a condition or learning disability which causes difficulty with reading and writing. ... Voice disorders are medical conditions affecting the production of speech. ... For other uses, see Stroke (disambiguation). ... Motor neuron disease (MND) is a term used to cover a number of illnesses of the motor neurone; amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), progressive muscular atrophy (PMA), spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), progressive bulbar palsy (PBP), and primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) are all forms of MND. MND is the term used internationally... For other senses of this word, see dementia (disambiguation). ... Laryngectomy the surgical removal of the larynx and separation of the airway from the mouth, nose and esophagus. ... Mental health is a concept that refers to a human individuals emotional and psychological well-being. ... The term learning disability is used to refer to socio-biological conditions that affect a persons communicative capacities and potential to learn. ... Stuttering is a speech disorder in which pronunciation of the (usually) first letter or syllable of a word is repeated involuntarily. ...

Place of work

Speech and language therapists work in community health centres, hospital wards and outpatient departments, mainstream and special schools, further education colleges, day centres and in their clients' homes. Some now work in courtrooms, prisons and young offenders' institutions.

Some speech and language therapists who work independently will see children and adults in their own homes, and may offer appointments on a Saturday.

Colleagues

SLTs/SLPs work closely with others involved with the client, for example difficulties with eating and drinking may also involve an occupational therapist. Speech and language therapists also work closely with parents and caregivers and other professionals, such as teachers, nurses, dietitians, physiotherapists and doctors.

See also

• Augmentative and Alternative Communication
• Blissymbols
• Chorditis
• Oral myology
• Phoniatrics
• Speech delay
• Speech impediment
• Speech pathology
• dysphasia
• aphasia
• dysarthria
• dyspraxia
• stroke

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) is the formal term for non-speech communication. In fact, the difference between augmentative and alternative communication is merely the difference between partial and total dependency on non-speech communication. ... Blissymbolics or Blissymbols were conceived of as an ideographic writing system consisting of several hundred basic symbols, each representing a concept, which can be composed together to generate new symbols that represent new concepts. ... Chorditis is the inflammation of vocal cords (vocal folds) usually as a result of voice abuse but sometimes due to cancer. ... Oral myology is the postural training of the tongue, lips and cheeks. ... Phoniatrics is the medical research and treatment of organs involved with speech production. ... Speech delay refers to a delay in the development or use of the mechanisms that produce speech. ... Speech disorders are a type of communication disorders where normal speech is disrupted. ... // Speech pathology, also termed speech-language pathology and speech & language therapy (SLT, mainly in the UK) is the study of disorders that affect a persons speech, language and swallowing. ... Dysphasia is a speech disorder in which there is an impairment of speech and of comprehension of speech. ... Aphasia (also Aphemia - from Greek α, without, and φημη, speech), is a loss or impairment of the ability to produce and/or comprehend language, due to brain damage. ... Dysarthria (from new latin dys-, prefix meaning mis-, dis-, accidental + greek -arthro, joint) is an injury or symptom describing minor speech impediments, often slurred speech. ... The Dyspraxia Foundation describes developmental dyspraxia as an impairment or immaturity of the organisation of movement. ... For other uses, see Stroke (disambiguation). ...

External links

• Association of Speech & Language Therapists in Private Practice (UK)
• Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists (UK)
• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
• Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists
• Speech Language Pathology and Audiology Directory Project