When there are communication problems and speech disorders, it can help the afflicted person a great deal, if he or she goes in for speech therapy through a qualified and experienced speech-language pathologist.
These professionals conduct speech therapy activities that help in improving the ability to communicate. These activities can need language intervention or articulation therapy, besides many others. The method or combination of methods can only be decided after the language disorder is clearly identified. Speech disorders can develop in childhood, and in adults can be speech impairments that are a result of an illness or injury. Adults suffering from strokes or brain injuries often find trouble in regaining their ability to communicate and need to undergo therapy to revive their earlier skills.
Articulation disorders are those that children often suffer as they are unable to properly form certain sounds. Stuttering and cluttering are other disorders that affect the rhythm, speed and flow of sound and can greatly affect social interaction in children and adults. At times, the blockage of regular airflow in the nasal or oral passages create sounds that tend to make the speech of the person unintelligible. Some people may have difficulty understanding and processing what others say and this may be considered a disorder that does require the person to go through speech therapy activities. Speech therapists also need to intervene when a person has difficulty forming sentences accurately and this is associated with other health conditions. Brain injuries can affect control of the ability to think and this can be alleviated by the attention of a speech therapist. Slow or slurred speech is often a muscular problem that requires the intervention of these experts.
Speech therapy will start with an assessment by the therapist to decide on which of these communication disorders need to be treated. In children, therapists use books, pictures and other objects as a part of the intervention to help in the stimulation of language development. Play and talk are used as well to encourage the child to participate fully. During these sessions, age-appropriate play is used to correct syllables and sounds. For children, families must be also encouraged to participate by carrying out simple therapies in the home.
For adults, therapies take on shape only after a proper diagnosis of the speech disorder and can include conversational tactics to improve their ability to communicate in society. Breathing exercises, exercise to strengthen the oval cords, and other activities like problem-solving are often part of the therapies used.
Leave a Reply