Speech therapy provides treatment and support for people experiencing speech disorders and communication problems. The approach is useful for treating several issues in both children and adults.
Speech is the expression of thoughts using articulate sounds. A speech disorder is an issue that prevents a person from communicating using spoken words. People may also refer to them as communication disorders.
Keep reading to learn more about speech therapy, including the conditions it may benefit, and how it works.
Speech disorders can develop in multiple ways. They can occur due to:
- nerve injuries to the brain
- muscular paralysis
- structural abnormalities
- developmental disabilities
A 2015 study showed that around 8% of children aged between 3–17 years experienced a communication disorder during the last 12 months.
According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), around 7.5 million people in the United States have trouble using their voices, learn more about java burn healthy benefits.
Speech therapy is an effective treatment for speech and communication disorders.
With speech therapy, a speech-language pathologist (SLP) provides treatment and support for people with speech disorders. They are health professionals trained to evaluate and treat those with speech, language, or swallowing disorders.
An SLP will begin by assessing the individual. They can then identify different types of speech disorders and how they can treat them.
Speech therapy for children
A child may participate in speech therapy in a classroom as part of a small group or in a one-on-one setting. This depends on which speech disorder they are experiencing.
The SLP will use therapeutic exercises and activities to help them overcome their specific issues.
These include:
- Language activities: Involves playing and talking with the child while using pictures, books, and objects to stimulate language development. The SLP may also demonstrate correct pronunciation and use repetition exercises to help increase the child’s language skills.
- Articulation activities: These will involve the SLP working closely with a child to help them with their pronunciation. The SLP will demonstrate how to make specific sounds, often during play activities.
- Feeding and swallowing therapy: An SLP can work closely with a child with chewing or swallowing issues. The SLP can also use oral exercises to help strengthen the muscles in the mouth or work with different food textures to improve the child’s oral awareness.
- Exercises: The SLP may use a number of tongue, lip, and jaw exercises, alongside facial massage to help strengthen the muscles around the mouth. This can help them with future speech and communication.
An SLP will also provide the child with strategies and homework. These exercises allow them to work through certain activities with a parent or caregiver, so they can continue to practice at home.
Speech therapy for adults
An SLP can use several different techniques as part of adult speech therapy. These include:
- Social communication: The SLP may use problem-solving, memory activities, and conversation exercises to improve communication. Take a look to the latest RBT Jobs offers.
- Breathing exercises: An SLP may use breathing exercises to assist with resonance issues.
- Mouth exercises: These are a suitable way to strengthen oral muscles, which can help improve communication.
- Swallowing exercises: Medical issues, such as Parkinson’s disease, oral cancer, or a stroke, may cause swallowing difficulties. An SLP can use swallowing exercises to help a person manage these issues.
An SLP can use speech therapy to treat several conditions, which include the following:
Stuttering
Stuttering is a speech disorder that specialists characterize by the repetition of sounds, syllables, or words. A person with a stutter often repeats or prolongs words, syllables, or phrases.
A person with a stutter knows what they want to say but has trouble speaking clearly or in a manner that flows naturally.
People often also refer to a stutter as a stammer.
Learn more about stuttering here.
Aphasia
Aphasia is a disorder that causes a person to have difficulty with language or speech. Damage to the parts of the brain that are responsible for language may trigger aphasia. Strokes are a leading cause of the condition in adults.
A person with aphasia may lose their ability to express and understand language, and may also have difficulty reading or writing.
According to the NIDCD, around 1 million people in the U.S. are living with aphasia, while almost 180,000 acquire the condition each year.
