Study On Speech Pathology

Speech-language pathologists, who are also referred to as speech therapists, assess, diagnose, treat, and help to prevent disorders relating to speech, language, cognitive-communication, voice, swallowing, and fluency. The field they work in is collectively referred to as Speech Pathology.

Speech-language pathologists work with individuals who have difficulty producing sounds or who can't produce sounds effectively. This includes individuals struggling with speech fluency problems like stuttering; those with voice disorders, such as inappropriate pitch or harsh voice; those with problems understanding and producing language; those who wish to improve their communication skills by modifying an accent; and those with cognitive communication impairments, such as attention, memory, and problem solving disorders. They also work with people who have swallowing difficulties.

People contract speech-language disorders due to a myriad of reasons. Such problems and disorders can be brought about by a stroke, brain injury or deterioration, developmental delays or disorders, learning disabilities, cerebral palsy, cleft palate, voice pathology, mental retardation, hearing loss, or emotional problems. Also, these problems can be congenital, developmental, or acquired. It is the speech pathologists job to analyze and diagnose the nature and degree of severity of the disorders, and they a ranging of qualitative and quantitative techniques for this purpose. Such techniques are not all subjective and based on the speech pathologists own professional judgment alone, some of them are standardized tests that help to establish a relative picture on the patient's condition.

However, the treatment plan that a speech-language pathologist develops is tailored to best suit the speech impaired person's individual condition. Where an individual has little or no speech ability, the speech pathologist chooses from either augmentative or alternative communication methods. This ranges from automated devices to teaching sign language.

Speech pathologists also teach patients how to make sounds, improve their voice quality, and enhance written or oral communication skills. Thus, those who want to better speakers and better communicators also turn to speech pathologists for aid. For those who have problems swallowing, speech pathologists help them in strengthening their muscles and teach them alternative compensatory strategies that will enable them to swallow without choking or inhaling the food or drink.

Speech-language pathologists generally provide direct clinical services to individuals who need their services. Within the context of a medical facility, 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 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.

To pursue a career in speech pathology, you will be required to have at least a master's degree in speech pathology. For practitioners' license there may be an exam or there may be extra requirements on the level of learning, but that will depend and vary with the state you work in. although not all speech pathologists have a master's degree, but in some states, formal education helps in getting a license and in others, it's a definite requirement.

• Matt Thompson
• 29/12/2008, 10:59 PM
• 0 Comments