With speech therapy, children with speech impediments are able to vocalize with clarity and say exactly what they mean. They do this while also gaining a prompt interpretation of what others say.
Speech therapy is useful for treating different types of speech and language disorders and delays in both children and adults. Early intervention can help to improve communication and uplift self-confidence.
Some common conditions include:
·Stuttering: Someone with this disorder often prolongs or repeats phrases, words, or syllables.
·Aphasia: An individual suffering from Aphasia might lose their ability to understand and express language and might also experience trouble reading or writing.
·Articulation disorders: People with these disorders might have trouble making certain sounds. These people often mispronounce words, and many also have problems with other aspects of language development.
·Resonance disorders: These disorders modify the vibrations responsible for voice quality, which results in a person’s speech becoming unclear.
·Specific language impairment: This disorder triggers problems in children’s language skills development. It can affect how a child reads, writes, speaks, and listens.
With speech therapy, an SLP (speech-language pathologist) provides treatment and support for individuals having speech disorders. An SLP begins by evaluating the person.
A child may undergo speech therapy in a one-on-one setting or as part of a small group. This depends on the speech disorder that the child is experiencing. An SLP uses different therapeutic activities and exercises to help the child overcome their specific issues. These include:
·Articulation activities: Here, the SLP works closely with the child to help them with their pronunciation.
·Language activities: This involves talking and playing with the child while utilizing books, pictures, and other objects to encourage language development.
·Feeding and swallowing therapy: Here, the SLP can work closely with the child with swallowing or chewing issues.
·Exercises: The SLP may use different types of jaw, lip, and tongue exercises, alongside facial massage, to toughen the muscles around the child’s mouth.
Different techniques are used as part of speech therapy for adults. These include social communication that involves memory activities, problem-solving, etc., breathing exercises or resonance, swallowing exercises to manage different medical issues, and mouth exercises to strengthen oral muscles.
The period of time a person needs to undergo speech therapy depends on several factors. These include age, the severity and type of the speech disorder, underlying medical condition, treatment of the underlying medical condition, and frequency of the speech therapy.
