The 3 Differences Between Speech Therapy And Phoniatrics
Speech is a skill that must be developed throughout life, and it is one of the main methods that human beings have to communicate with each other. Sometimes this learning can be impaired, not achieved correctly or even lost in the presence of various injuries and illnesses.
That is why the figure of specialists in this area, such as speech therapists and speech therapists, is necessary. However, it is possible that the functions that make these professionals different are not known. Therefore in this article we are going to observe the differences between speech therapy and phoniatrics
First of all, to analyze the differences between both professions, it is necessary to analyze what each one entails.
Speech therapy is a discipline focused on the study and treatment of oral language problems and the elements that allow it It starts from a perspective that seeks diagnosis and rehabilitation from the application of measures and techniques based on the patient learning to communicate correctly, overcoming or compensating the effect of a disorder, illness or difficulty.
With regard to speech therapy, it is understood as the branch of medicine specialized in disorders of oral communication, phonation and hearing, and in general, other forms of communication. The speech therapist is a doctor with the ability to diagnose and treat disorders in different ways, such as the presence of malformations, dysglosias and dysarthrias, aphasias, and sensory and motor problems linked to speech.
Main differences between speech therapy and phoniatrics
As we have seen, both disciplines have a series of points in which they are largely similar, but there are also a series of differences between them that we will analyze below.
1. Training
The speech therapist is a professional who has been trained at university level in language and communication possessing extensive knowledge of human communication and language, as well as the processes and areas that allow it.
Regarding the phoniatrist, he is a specialist doctor in the language sector. His scope of knowledge is therefore more linked to medical and biological aspects, although he also has knowledge and can apply different types of intervention. In Spain, speech therapy is a specialty that is not recognized at the university level, while speech therapy is.
2. Orientation
Based on the previous point we can see that the two types of professionals tend to have a distinctive orientation. While the phoniatric doctor has a more biomedical perspective of the situation and disorders, speech therapy exercises from a more educational and pedagogical perspective
3. Type of treatment used
The speech therapist can apply a large number of treatments, including drug administration or the prescription of speech therapy sessions, but does not usually make a practical application of these directly.
The speech therapist will be in charge of administering and putting the treatment into practice, at the level of introduce and carry out patient rehabilitation through various techniques more focused on learning and performing exercises that allow improvement and that do not have to do with more drastic and invasive measures.
Phoniatrics and speech therapy are disciplines that present differences and do not act in the same way or have the same competencies.
But despite these differences, the truth is that we can observe that in both cases we are dealing with qualified professionals who pursue the improvement of patients and whose field of work specializes in human oral communication Generally, both health disciplines go hand in hand, helping those people with language and communication problems to be able to express themselves freely again.
