speech therapy

speech therapy

The Importance of Speech Therapy

1. Introduction

In this essay, the term “speech problem” refers to any defect in the body’s (physiological) production of the sounds of speech or a disorder in an individual’s pattern of sound production in the language. The essay does not focus on disorders of language, but it is recognized that language and speech are closely related, and it is impossible not to discuss language when speaking about speech.

The ability to communicate is fundamental to living a successful and fulfilling life. In today’s consumer-driven society, individuals and families need to access information, services, and make consumer decisions. For these activities, an individual is required to be functional in several areas of communication, one of which is speech. An individual’s communication is often taken for granted, but it is a complex process that involves coordination between a large number of muscles and neurological networks, and any disorder of the system can have far-reaching effects. Speech problems are extremely common in our society, and the impact of such problems should not be underestimated.

2. Understanding Speech Disorders

An example of a language disorder would be a child using incorrect sentence structure ‘yesterday I eated dinner then I went to the park’. Although this is typical for a very young child, it is not considered normal past five to six years of age. This child is showing difficulty with verb tense markers and word order. The child’s articulation is correct but understanding is needed to differentiate a speech impairment from a language disorder. Articulatory disorders are physiologically based speech disorders in which the child is unable to produce a certain sound or sounds due to abnormalities of the oral articulatory structures or due to motoric problems. This could be due to a cleft palate, paralysis, or ineffective coordination of the speech muscles and the child may show signs of frustration or embarrassment. Global aphasia is a more severe language disorder usually resulting from a stroke where there is loss of the ability to understand or formulate language. This can be a particularly distressing disorder for the affected person who is left fully functional in every other way and has normal articulation.”

“Speech difficulties in children may result from hearing loss, neurological disorders, emotional disturbances, mental retardation, articulatory deficits, or dialectal differences. Frequently these children have accompanying language difficulties. A child can present with a specific speech sound production problem in which the child uses a sound that is typical at a younger age. For example, a four-year-old who says ‘wabbit’ for ‘rabbit’. This could be considered typical if the child is three years old, however, if the child continues to use the ‘w’ sound past five years of age, it could negatively affect the child’s educational and social advancement. An impediment can be defined as a distortion or disfluency of a specific sound and can result from abnormal oral muscular tone. Discuss with examples the difference between speech impairment and a more general language disorder.

3. Benefits of Speech Therapy

Better academic performance. Success in school is generally connected to good communication skills. By improving communication, the child is more likely to be able to grasp the academic material presented at school. Also, children who have speech services in the early school years are less likely to need academic support or to repeat a grade later on.

Improved communication. At its core, speech therapy is about improving a child’s communication skills. Many children who have communication problems struggle with understanding, verbal and non-verbal language. A speech therapist is not only trained to help the child find the specific sounds or words they are struggling with, but also to improve the child’s language processing and understanding.

Speech therapy may have started for your child as a simple activity you did with them a few times a week in your home. However, decades of research have consistently shown that children who are helped by speech therapists are more likely to have greater success in life. Here are some of the benefits your child will gain from having speech therapy.

4. Techniques and Approaches in Speech Therapy

Articulation therapy is the approach to correct pronunciation of words. A speech therapist will help a person to monitor or physically correct the way they form words. They will do this in a variety of ways using demonstrations, repetition, phonetic placement and cuing. Language processing practice involves exercising the mind to understand and form language, is based on the idea of muscle rehabilitation it can slowly reintroduce the skills that have been lost or introduce the skills that should have been learned by the client. Language practice can be a combination of the two. A therapist can use oral or verbal work and cognitive linguistic work to repair both the client’s verbal and nonverbal skills. The main form of language practice is repetitive stimulation in order to practice certain exercises with the hope they will be transferred outside the clinical environment. The client’s needs will depend upon the severity of the disorder and its longevity. Fluency is the effortless flow of speech. This can be interfered by the hesitations or repetitions, which affect the rhythm and rate of speech i.e. prolonging the speech. This is known as dysfluency and the most common form is stuttering. Stuttering is a verbal struggle and can be very frustrating for the client. The therapist must identify the type of dysfluency and associated factors in order to provide appropriate management. The Lidcombe Program is an approach used with children. It is a type of operant conditioning to reinforce fluency. A trial of the program showed positive effects in reduced stuttering moments. A more general approach would be to work with the client to reduce the negative feelings and effects associated with dysfluent speech and ultimately to accept it while working to strive for improvement. A less common fluency disorder is cluttering which is an excessive rate due to the rapid production of speech. Resonance and voice therapy is to do with the manipulation of the oral cavity and airflow from the respiratory system in order to create the right type of sound. It may involve the rehabilitation of certain muscles or and learning to change oral posture. This can be seen in individuals with a cleft palate in which surgery as a child would impair learning of normal speech production. Voice therapy is basically how it sounds. Though voice disorders can also be due to damage of the speech mechanism e.g. spasmodic dysarthria. This is similar to language practice. Behavioral voice therapy was compared to vocal nodules and satisfactory results were shown with a course of 8-12 weeks.

5. Conclusion

The stigma that was once attached to a child pulled out of class for speech therapy is disappearing as more and more research shows the impact of effective communication on academic success. In fact, pulling a child out of class can lead to increased self-esteem if handled professionally and can carry over to pull up grades in a child who has experienced academic failure. However, therapy is not a quick fix and there is no instant solution. This is beneficial considering that a gradual approach in teaching and the natural course of development are generally best. It is important that the child and the child’s parents fully understand the process of the child’s speech therapy. Realistic results must be defined and constantly redefined through the mutual efforts of the speech language pathologist, the child, and if possible, the child’s teacher.

Uncorrected speech impediments can lead to a variety of academic, emotional and social problems. The sooner a speech problem is treated, the more chance a child has of correcting the problem before they experience failure and negative consequences. The ultimate goal of speech therapy is to eliminate the problem, or to teach the proper sound and/or rhythm. Articulation therapy, language intervention, and other forms of speech therapy can provide a child with a way to improve communicative effectiveness.

While it is difficult to understand why children have difficulty learning to talk, it is comforting to know that much can be done to help them. Speech therapy is the key to treating a child with a speech delay. It is very difficult for an untrained ear to understand a speech disordered child. Children who cannot speak well are often ignored by other children and sometimes even by adults, because it is human nature to avoid a person who is difficult to understand. This isolation can be detrimental to a child’s social development. If a child has a problem which is constantly being brought to his attention by others, it is only natural for him to develop poor self-esteem. The formation of a negative self-concept can become a contributing factor in a child’s failure to correct his speech difficulty. It is important to break this cycle as quickly as possible. A young child’s speech and language are critical to later development.