Facts About Speech Pathology

Speech pathology deals with the study of disorders related to a person's speech, language, cognition, voice and swallowing. It is basically a discipline designed to help individuals deal with problems in their communication ability.

Communication includes speech (articulation, intonation, rate, intensity), language (phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics), both receptive and expressive language (including reading and writing), and non-verbal communication 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).

Speech pathology or speech-language pathology as it is also referred to as, helps with all these conditions. A person could develop or encounter any of these speech disorders by an accident, they could be born with them, a severe shock or traumatic experience can bring about a speech disorder, emotional imbalances, etc. A speech therapist can help deal with all these in a very healthy way. They guide the patient on how to treat the disorder and lead as normal a life as possible. Speech pathologists also teach patients how to make proper sounds that will enable them to begin talking. Many people lose the ability to speak after a traumatic accident or brain injury and speech pathologists help them to learn how to form words and communicate again.

People who wish to improve their speaking skills or voice quality can also get a lot of help from speech pathologists. The speech pathologist will prescribe and coach in exercises that will help to improve voice quality. Communication skills can be developed or enhance through the understanding of how human beings receive and decipher communication. So for the practical purpose of solving your communication problems, or becoming a better speaker, you can turn to a speech pathologist.

To practice speech pathology, it's not necessary to have a master's degree. But as times go by and the field of speech-language pathology becomes more populated, it's becoming a more appreciated attribute that practitioners have degrees to certify their skill. Also, a master's degree is becoming a requirement for many states before they grant a practitioner's license. Unless you are going to long established and very highly recommended speech pathologist, it's highly recommended that you emphasize on seeing their master's degree.

Speech-language pathologists generally provide direct clinical services to individuals who need their services. You will also find them in most medical facilities; they work within a team of physicians, doctors, psychologists and physical therapists. Within educational institutions, speech-language pathologists work in collaboration with teachers, special educators, interpreters, staff as well as parents to design and implement programs that provide counseling, support for classroom activities for children struggling with a speech impairment. Based on the condition s they may be faced with, such programs and support systems may be designed at both group as well as individual level.

If you have a child who is struggling with a speech disorder then you should definitely consider consulting a speech pathologist. This will ensure that your child gets proper treatment as well as psychological support, all combining to give a speedy recovery and better quality of life.

• Juliana Breckinridge
• 26/12/2008, 10:59 PM
• 0 Comments