Speech therapy is a therapy which helps people to regain some speech after an accident or illness due to which they have suffered a speech loss & also help children who have a delayed speech development. It aims at training the people to be able to speak more clearly and fluently.Speech Therapy focuses on receptive language (ie, the ability to understand words spoken to you) and expressive language (ie the ability to use words to express yourself). Along with it above deals other parameters of speech like articulation, voice & fluency. Adults are given speech after stroke or any traumatic accidents which has thereby changed their ability to use language. For children, it generally involves pursuing milestones that have been delayed. The professional in charge of your child's speech therapy -- called a speech-language pathologist, speech therapist, and speech teacher work to find fun activities to strengthen your child in areas of weakness. For mechanics, this might involve exercises to strengthen the tongue and lips, such as blowing whistles, facial massage etc. For language, this might involve games to stimulate word retrieval, comprehension or conversation. Speech & language pathologists also deal with swallowing disorders and dysphagia.Hereby, the working areas of SLP’s are widely distributed and includes them dealing with swallowing disorders, aphasics, apraxics, dysarthia, children with autism, ADHD, cerebral palsy, Hearing loss, cognitive impairment, Cranial nerve damage etc.
Speech therapist is the certified professional that corrects communication disorder. This can range from hearing disorders, articulation deficits, auditory/language processing difficulties, vocal disturbances, neurological dysfunction, fluency issues such as stuttering, feeding and swallowing concerns, as well as oral motor issues
Speech therapy may take short duration for those having isolated tongue thrust or long duration for deaf or autistic child.
Once child is diagnosed by any specialist having developmental delays or when there is any neurological deficit.
There is definitely the possibility that impairment in the speech and language areas can have a detrimental effect on academics and social interactions. It is also known to have a very negative impact on self-esteem. These are all factors that can be addressed with treatment.
The best answer to this question is to speak with a speech therapist directly regarding the specific areas of concern.
