Many people who suffered from speech disorders have experienced great improvement thanks to the work of a speech therapist. However, not everyone is clear from the beginning what these professionals do.
Let’s find out what the functions of speech therapists arethe main issues they face in their daily lives, what are the anomalies that they can resolve and what are the benefits that a person can obtain by performing one of these therapies.
Characteristics of speech therapy or language therapy
To know the main functions of speech therapists The first thing we must be clear about is what this profession consists of.. A speech therapist is a professional in everything related to speech and communication, as well as hearing but also associated behaviors in which the oral area is involved, such as the act of swallowing, chewing or simply chewing. breathe, since due to some alteration they may be related to the pathology in question.
The problems treated by speech therapists are of a very diverse nature.. Some arise as consequences of a problematic birth, others are associated with syndromes, whether genetic, such as Down syndrome and some orpheline-type diseases, or developmental, such as Asperger’s or autism. In other cases, the pathology comes from other cases and the child (or adult) simply develops certain difficulties in using language, in its oral or written form.
But Problems considered in speech therapy are also those that involve difficulties in the use of logical and mathematical reasoning.. Of course, speech and related difficulties also occur in adulthood, with degenerative diseases such as sclerosis, Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, among others. Likewise, injuries to certain areas of the brain, whether due to trauma or other causes, could also lead to communication disorders.
What are the main functions of speech therapists?
Once we have known what this profession consists of, we can now focus on the main functions of speech therapists, to continue delving deeper and discover in detail the main tasks to which they pay attention during their therapeutic processes.
Probably the first communication disorder that comes to mind when we think about speech therapy.. Stuttering consists of a constant interruption in speech, which the subject performs involuntarily, which causes the constant repetition of different syllables. This symptom is accompanied by muscle tension in the entire maxillofacial area, and also by an important psychological component that consists mainly of anxiety and fear of speaking.
One of the main functions of speech therapists would be, therefore, the treatment of stuttering, which generally requires a long process carrying out a series of exercises constantly, but where family members and people around the child have a very important role. important, since it is essential to give him the necessary confidence and all the time he needs, without correcting him, to express himself and gradually improve.
2. Training in modulation and pronunciation
It is also very common for speech therapists to encounter cases of people who have problems modulating your voice correctly or pronouncing certain phonemes, a very frequent one being /rr/. As with stuttering, difficulties in pronouncing make the person who suffers from them also experience the stress that the situation causes, so the psychological damage they are suffering should not be ignored.
Applying corrective treatments to achieve partial or total improvement when pronouncing certain sounds or learning to modulate the voice correctly would be other of the main functions of speech therapists. To do this, they have a series of techniques that adapt to the subject, and that with great perseverance helps them find that improvement they are looking for to forget about their pronunciation problems.
3. Therapy to overcome voice problems
It is possible that the difficulties also come from the voice itself in the form of problems making sounds, either due to alterations in the physical structures necessary to make this action, such as the larynx or vocal cords, or due to other problems that may be psychological type. In any case, another of the main functions of speech therapists is collaborate with these people to little by little, and as far as possible, achieve better speaking ability.
Logically, in cases in which there is a physical deterioration or alteration, the improvements could only be partial, to the extent permitted by the state of the different organic components of the subject affected by this pathology. In any case, the speech therapist, thanks to his knowledge and experience, will accompany you in the process and help you in everything possible in search of that learning.
But not all communication problems come from mechanical factors or voice factors. Difficulties can also be found in the understanding of the language itself.. We would be talking, for example, about aphasias (language disorders) of a sensory type, such as Wenicke’s aphasia, which is generated by damage to that area of ​​the brain. This type of pathology generates problems in understanding but sometimes also in language fluency.
It will, therefore, be one of the main functions of speech therapists to provide their services to these patients, although When talking about brain injuries, treatment can be very slow and improvements limitedso it must be combined with other types of techniques in order to achieve the greatest possible effect, when combining the therapies.
5. Therapy for swallowing difficulties
An example of a speech-related problem that directly affects the development of this behavior would be swallowing difficulties. This pathology, whose origin may be in physical or psychological problems, would generate problems when emitting speech, so its treatment is also one of the main functions of speech therapists. This disorder is known as dysphagia, and it has repercussions on the patient’s quality of life.so it is important to stop it as soon as possible.
Dysphagia can occur for very diverse reasons, and can also be classified into different types depending on the part of the digestive system where the difficulties are found. Therefore, depending on the specific type of dysphagia, the treatment to be applied will be one or another, with the speech therapist being the expert who will decide the strategy to follow to achieve improvement in this aspect.
Treatment phases
Although we have seen a very varied casuistry in terms of the main functions of speech therapists, let’s now see what a typical treatment process would be like by analyzing each of its phases.
1. Evaluation
As in so many other disciplines, the first thing the speech therapist must do when a patient arrives at his office is the pertinent evaluation, analyzing the problem from its origin, collecting all the data from both your history and possible medical historystudying any medical or school reports that may be available, and examining speech and related functions (swallowing, chewing, breathing, jaw articulation, and others).
An assessment of the language, both spoken and written, and its understanding will also be carried out, to define the problem and be able to apply an accurate and effective treatment. With all this information properly collected and analyzed, we will reach another of the main functions of speech therapists, which is the issuance of the diagnosis related to speech dysfunctions.
2. Treatment
With a clear diagnosis, the next step is establish objectives and choose the most appropriate treatment to be applied in the sessions that are necessary to achieve the proposed improvement. The number of techniques that can be chosen for treatment is many, and will depend on many factors: the diagnosed condition, the characteristics of the patient, the established objectives and the speech therapist’s own experience.
Obviously, depending on the type of treatment applied, the procedure will last more or less long. As in so many other disciplines, each case is unique, so rigid deadlines cannot be established, since some people experience improvement with the first sessions, while others need several more rounds of treatment to achieve the positive effects they seek. .
3. High
We were talking about the main functions of speech therapists, and these can be summarized in achieve overcoming the pathologies of people affected by speech disorders.
This involves evaluating them, applying the appropriate treatment, and finally this third phase, discharging them. One type of discharge is an outpatient discharge, to inform the doctors and the patient’s relatives of the patient’s condition, and give them guidelines for continuing their treatment.
The other type of discharge would be the definitive onethe one in which the speech therapist has achieved the success he was looking for and therefore the ailment that brought the person to the consultation has subsided, or the objectives that had been proposed in the previous phase have been achieved and therefore the treatment is terminated.
