Who Are Speech Therapists?
Speech and language pathologists are qualified professionals, who deal with speech-related disabilities in a person. They have an education in communication sciences or a major that is related to disorders. The main job of a speech therapist is to help their patients recover from speech-related disorders. This can include anything that causes trouble for a person to normally speak. Communication is a very important aspect of every person’s life. Without having proper communication one can never survive. Speech therapists help people regain control over their normal communication patterns.
Who Needs Speech Therapy?
Speech therapy is required by children and adults who have trouble communicating or have a speech disorder. Speech disorders can be genetic or can be developed later on in life. Other than that, children or adults with speech and hearing impairments may also require speech therapy. Moreover, children with cognitive and developmental delays, weak muscles of the oral cavity, disorders like autism, respiratory disorders, traumatic injury to the brain and chronic hoarseness, etc. may require speech therapy. Sometimes, an accident or any other severe injury can cause a person to develop speech disorders. Especially, when the vocal cord or the mouth of that person is injured. For them, communicating properly becomes hard and uneasy. This is why they may have to go through a course of speech therapy to regain control of their mouth muscles.
What Are The Different Speech Disorders?
Speech disorders are of various kinds. Each type of speech disorder requires specific care. These disorders include,
- Articulation disorder
- Fluency disorder
- Resonance disorder
- Receptive disorder
- Expressive disorder
- Cognitive-communication disorder
- Aphasia
- Dysarthria
What Really Is Speech Therapy And Who Provides It?
Speech therapy is a service offered by speech-language pathologists (SLPs). It aids in the development of a person’s communication abilities. The phrase “speech therapy” covers a broad range of services. People of all ages may need it. If a person’s mouth is injured or damaged in a tragic event, they may need speech therapy to go back to their usual speech pattern.
People would be unable to understand you if you lacked the necessary communication abilities. This could lead to a severe lack of self-assurance and a drop in morale. Speech therapy is required for children who display evident symptoms of their incapacity to communicate effectively. They must learn to improve their communication skills in order to succeed in daily life. And speech therapists provide exactly that.
Speech Therapy: Do All Children Need It?
Speech therapy may be required by a large number of children. However, all children do not require it. It is only essential for children with some sort of speech disorder or learning disabilities. Other than that, children suffering from any sort of hearing disorder may also require speech therapy. Any stressful experience can lead to a variety of speech difficulties. Speech impairments, on the other hand, might be hereditary and incurable. The physical conditions that might trigger speech disorders in a child include Damage in The Vocal Cord, Muscles or Nerves, Respiratory Weakness, Vocal cord paralysis, Strokes, Polyps or Nodules on The Vocal Cord. Common medical and developmental conditions that can cause speech disorders to include, autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), etc.
What Are The Main Issues Of Children With Speech Disorders?
The number one problem that children with speech disorders face are difficulty in pronunciation and the lack of fluency. Children with speech disorders usually can not talk in constant fluency. They may repeat a single word a couple of times before moving on to the next. Or they may not make proper sounds of letters such as “r” “s” etc. In this case, the child may pronounce a word such as “frog”, like “fwog” or “this” like “thith’. Sometimes, children also lose control of the speed of the speech that they are supposed to communicate in. For instance, a child may talk so quickly that it becomes really hard for another person to make sense of their sentences. Or in other cases, they may talk really slow and stutter a lot in between.
Other than that, children with speech disorders usually have a tendency to add unnecessary syllables in between the words. In this case, the child may pronounce the words water as “wuh-aa-ter”. Furthermore, children with speech disorders may also have trouble controlling the pitch of their sounds. In case, your child shows any of the following signs of speech disorder, then consulting with a speech therapist maybe your best option.
Is Speech Therapy Effective?
The effectiveness of speech therapy depends on the type of speech disorder. In most cases, general speech disorders can be treated with speech therapy. However, if a person has difficulty in talking due to speech and hearing impairments, then speech therapy may or may not prove to be effective. Moreover, speech therapy for children has always proved to be very effective if started at a young age. It helps children to overcome their disorders and difficulties easily as compared to when they grow older.
Qualified Speech and Language Pathologist
Speech therapists are in great demand in the present age. More and more parents are trying to provide their children with speech therapy so that they can overcome their speech disorders. However, finding a reliable and trustworthy speech therapist for your loved ones may not be as easy as it sounds. This is why “Holistic Healthcare services” provide the service of the Best certified Speech Therapist in Lahore.
